Realization
by KIKUMARU18
Summary: Hikaru meets Sai, but this time round, Hikaru has absolutely no desire to play. While Sai's spectacular skills catches the eyes of the highest pros, Hikaru has been gaining strength in the background, but will he ever be able to play a game himself?
1. Prologue

_Alright so i rewrote it...hopefully made it better and not worse :) anyway R&R please!_

_DISCLAIMER: I do not own Hikaru no Go nor do i make any money from the story_

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><p>Akari shivered as yet another tingle ran up her spine. Whenever Hikaru dragged her up here she couldn't help but get the chills. "Hey Hikaru? Are you sure we should be doing this?"<p>

"Why not? Grandpa has no idea we're here, and besides my parents cut my allowance again. Seriously, you can't do anything with 50 yen these days," Hikaru complained. Akari watched as yet another broken...something, was added to the ever growing pile of discarded items.

"Well, if you just studied or saved up, you wouldn't be in this mess!"

"Oh, shut up! You sound just like my mother! Sometimes I swear-ooohh, this looks nice!" Hikaru exclaimed. With a grunt he pulled out a dusty board.

"Hey, isn't that one of the boards you play chess on?" Akari asked peering over his shoulder. She waved her hand trying to dispel the clomps of dust that decided to fly up when the board was moved.

"No idea, but it should be worth quite a lot," Hikaru replied while wiping the dust off the surface. "Now if only I could get this stain off."

Akari looked at Hikaru in surprise. The board looked fine to her. "Hikaru? There's no stain on the board, it looks perfectly clean."

This time it was Hikaru's turn to stare at Akari quizically. Could she not the the red stain along the side of the board? It looked as clear as day to him. In fact, he could of sworn it was blood if he didn't know whose attic they were in. "What are you talking about? This stain right here."

"Hikaru, I'm telling you there is no stain!" Akari was getting exasperated, either Hikaru was trying to scare her for kicks or he was going insane. It was most likely the first option, it wouldn't be the first time that Hikaru decided to tease her.

"Can you see it?"

Hikaru jumped up, startled "Who's there?"

"Hikaru…" Akari backed away nervously.

"Can you hear me?" the voice rang out, clearer than before.

"Who is it? Grandpa? This isn't funny!" Hikaru looked around wildly but couldn't seem to find the source of the sound, "Grandpa?"

"Hikaru, I'm leaving!" Akari turned and fled down the stairs. Even if they were talking about Hikaru, this was taking things a bit too far.

"You can hear me! Oh thank you Kami-sama, I shall now return to the living world."

The goban started to glow; Hikaru stared at it fascinated as a man appeared. He was wearing a-a-dress? The last thing he remembered was the man's incredibly long purple hair before the floor rushed up to meet his face.

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><p><em>So...How was it? Please review! I get really happy when people review :D<em>


	2. Chapter One

EDIT: so as you can see, i took up some suggestions and decided to combine the first three chapters into one chapter, if it doesn't work, feel free to tell me

EDIT: added a section that to me seemed really angsty, might be because I'm in a depressed mood right now.

read and review plleeeeaaaaaaaassssseeeeee :D

**Disclaimer: **like i said before, i do NOT own Hikaru No Go nor do i make any money from writing this fanfic

Edit: Again I know, don't kill me. There will be a lot of edits :) anyways, I finally got a beta, YES, I know right? So Nantalith is beta'ing for me, and my heart bleeds in guilt just by knowing the torture Nantalith must be going through right now.

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><p><em>Pa-chi<em>

_Fujiwara no Sai, looked patiently at the board while the Emperor tried to decide his next move, continue or resign? The latter would probably be the more likely decision_

"_Makemashita"_

_Sai looked up, "Arigatô Gozaimasu, now, shall we review the game?" At the Emperor's nod Sai continued "your game has been getting stronger, however if you connected here instead of attacking here," Sai pointed to a black stone on the goban with his fan "I would have had a more difficult time capturing this group of stones"_

"_Oh, I see, but what would happen if I connected here"_

"_That would not be considered the best move, as it leaves this part undefended and open to attack, while it does strengthen this group, it leaves no impression on the rest of the game."_

_On and on the discussion continued, with emperor pointing out possible moves and Sai teaching him how the moves could have worked and/or failed. When the lesson was over, Sai sat back and took a sip of his tea. His mind was reviewing all the possible outcomes the game could have ended in, the Emperor was not a formidable opponent but he was decent. As he thought his mind automatically strayed to the other Go tutor, Tsuyujima, he had a calculating look in his eyes the last few days._

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"HIKARU! You're going to be late for school if you don't wake up!" Mitsuko yelled, it was already 7:40 and Hikaru still wasn''t out of bed yet, seriously what was she going to do with him?

"Nooooo, what time is it anyways?" Hikaru groaned as he rolled over pulling the bed-sheets over his head trying to drown out the noise

"It's 7:40 young man," Mitsuko put her hands on her hips, voice promising punishment if he didn't hurry up

"What? It's that late?" Hikaru rolled out of bed and pulled on his clothes in a rush, he then grabbed his backpack and ran out the door at a flat-out sprint. "I'm going" he called out over his shoulder.

"Hey! What about breakfa-never mind" Hikaru's mother looked at her hopeless sons back as he disappeared around the corner.

"Hikaru! Your late!" Akari screamed at him as soon as they met at the school gate

"Sorry, sorry, I overslept,"

"Just don't do it again!" Akari fumed beside him

"_hai, hai,_" Hikaru dismissed her as he absently he sat down in his assigned seat for history class, his mind turned over to the weird dream last night, of course he knew what _go_ was, his grandfather was obsessed with it for god's sake! But for him to dream of that old geezers game was just plain weird. And what was even weirder was the fact that he remembered every little detail, including the history and the game. All that extra information was giving him a headache as he tried to sort through it all.

"Hikaru? Hikaru?"

Hikaru started, only to come face to face with his history teacher

"Hikaru, pg 45, question 2" Akari whispered from behind him

"Ahh….um.." Hikaru quickly flipped to the page trying to look inconspicuous, ignoring the giggles that erupted and the teacher's angry face.

The question however looked very familiar, and with a surprise he realized that he knew all of this from his dream.

"The Fujiwara clan gained a lot of influence and wealth during the early tenth century, thanks to the influence of an intermarriage arranged to the royal family?" Hikaru answered quickly, when he sat down however, he couldn't shake off the feeling of nausea

The teacher looked quite surprised, so Hikaru guessed that he had answered it correctly. He settled back in his seat letting out a sigh of relief and trying his hardest not to puke. At the mention of the Fujiwara clan, something had shifted within him. He knew it sounded cheesy, and not to mention crazy, but it was like someone else had lodged themselves into his brain. He tried to shake off the urge to get up and lean over his desk and vomit on the floor, he had no idea why, but he would not let the urge take over him. Though the urge was now much harder to ignore.

"Hikaru? Hikaru?"

Apparently the teacher was now quite fond of picking on him, too bad that he had spaced out again.

"Uh, yah?" Hikaru answered sheepishly

"_Gomen, sensei,_Hikaru blacked out yesterday, I guess he's still not feeling well," Akari came to the rescue

"Oh, are you feeling okay? If you're feeling dizzy please do go to the nurse's office" The teacher told him

"I think I will" Hikaru stood up and shooting Akari a grateful glance, booked it out of the classroom hardly making it just in time to vomit in the garbage can outside.

Inside the classroom, everyone cringed as they heard the sound of someone retching; no one doubted that it was Hikaru. The teacher had a guilty face on as she looked at the door "I hope he's alright" she muttered as she went back to describing the structure of the Emperor's court.

Outside the classroom, Hikaru was faced with an interesting dilemma. A very interesting dilemma that came in the shape of a tall male wearing something akin to a dress. Oh, and don't forget the fact the this male had the longest hair he had ever seen, was wearing make-up, and had this huge hat on his head.

"I'm hallucinating, I'm hallucinating, this is a dream," Hikaru muttered as he paced around the small corridor "yes that's it, I'm going crazy, there's no _way_ that anyone could come out of thin air and then walk through a _bench_ of all things!"

"Hikaru? You're not crazy, I'm right here!" the man was looking at him in a confused puppy dog kind of way

"No, ghosts are not real, pull yourself together Hikaru, this is a dream, wake up!"

"Hikaru, stop it, I'm right here!" The ghost/dude/man jumped out in front of him and started waving his arms about

"Who are you?" Hikaru finally talked to the ghost guy

"My name is Fujiwara no Sai, I taught the Emperor _Go_ back in the Heian period"

"_Fujiwara_? Wait, no, _emperor_? _Heian_? Wait, you were the guy I dreamed about last night! So this must be another dream"

"It's not a dream Hikaru! I'm right here!" Sai practically sobbed at him

Hikaru broke, it was just not right for a grown man to have such puppy dog eyes, it just wasn't fair! I was like depriving a puppy of its bone, it just wasn't right.

"Ok, ok, so if you really lived 1000 years ago, why are you still here?"

Instantly Sai's eyes turned sad and Hikaru immediately felt bad, no one could stand up to those eyes, no one!

"The emperor had 2 tutors, I was one of them, Tsuyujima was the other. One day Tsuyujima challenged me to a game, with the loser having to quit his job as the Emperor's tutor. Of course I accepted, the game progressed smoothly, until I saw that one of my white stones was mixed into his _goke_, normally you would just pass the stone back, but Tsuyujima waited until the right moment and put it into his pile of captured stones."

"He cheated!" Hikaru gasped

Sai smiled sadly "When I was about to confront him about it, he accused me of doing the deed he just did. With that incident on my mind, I lost my focus and the game. With the charge of cheating on my name as well, I was run out of the Capital. Unable to deal with the grief I drowned myself 2 days later."

"Wait, wait a moment! You drowned yourself just because you couldn't play go?"

"Yes, go is my life, I cannot live without it" Sai stated it so simply that you would think that it was common knowledge. However Hikaru thought he was crazy

"Oh, wow, that's some dedication" Hikaru whistles "I have no idea how to play go though" he added as an afterthought "so you should really move on to someone else"

"I can't, I tried it once with Torajiro and it didn't work." Sai looked lost in thought, obviously this torajiro person was very important to him, "and that was what the dream last night was for, it taught you how to play go! So now that you know how to play, let's go play go!" Sai was back to his hyperactive self again

"Woah, you mean you took control of my body?"

"No, I am a ghost, I can't control anything, thought I did give you a fragment of my memory so that you would at least know the strategies, moves, and thought that goes into a go game."

"Isn't that the same thing?"

"No, it's not!"

Oh no it was the puppy dog eyes again "ok, fine, I get it! Though don't expect to play go anytime soon, I'm busy with school and soccer" immediately Hikaru leaned over the garbage can and puked again.

Inside the classroom everyone cringed, the teacher looked really worried, and Akari was one straw away from jumping out of her seat and dragging Hikaru to the nurse's office.

"Hey, hey, I thought you said you couldn't take control over my body!"

"I can't it's just that when the thought that I can't play go came to mind, I was just so overcome with grief that some of it must of passed on to you" oh no the puppy dog eyes were back

"If you're that persistent, I guess I could play go sometimes…"

"Yay! Yay!" Sai promptly proceeded to cling around his neck

"Can't-b-r-e—a—t—h—e-," Hikaru gasped as he blacked out _again_, his last coherent thought was of how a man who was over 1000 years old could act so childish

Inside the classroom, they heard a loud crash outside, finally fed up, Akari got out of her chair and threw the door open, ready to chew out Hikaru and drag him to the nurse's office, only to find him out cold on the floor.

"OMG, someone help him, I think he died" someone called out, immediately the teachers called an ambulance and went into the necessary emergency procedures

No one noticed the fretting ghost who was walking through people, trying desperately to get someone's attention and explain what had happened.

Hikaru never realized how comfy his bed was before he slept in the hospital for a night. It was around 11 at night and Hikaru still hadn't fallen asleep yet. The story the Sai had told him left quite a deep impression on him and the dream from earlier wouldn't stop replaying in his head. To his surprise when he looked down at the goban he could understand most of what was happening. He could understand how the game had processed that far and why Sai was pointing out what he did. It unnerved him to no end.

"|Sai? Are you still awake|"

"Of course, ghosts can't sleep Hikaru"

"|oh…why do you love go so much?|"

"because it's beautiful" Sai replied simply, his eyes turned distant as if he were looking upon a faraway world that Hikaru could not yet see "when you play it's like you are god. The stones are your people, the goban is the universe. You can create the stars, you can create your own world. Your go game is a immediate reflection of yourself, you can learn so much from someone just by seeing their playing style. There are so many amazing things about go."

Hikaru didn't reply. Sai had also fallen silent. Both were deep in thought. Sai was thinking about his past life with Torajiro, Torajiro had seen the beauty of go, they had shared so many happy times together. When Torajiro died, Sai had felt unimaginably sad, like his heart was breaking in two. When he found Hikaru his heart had started to mend. Sai had hoped that Hikaru would be like Torajiro but the two were like day and night.

Hikaru on the other hand was thinking about go. He had never looked at something with the dedication that Sai had for go. Was go really so wonderful? Could go be so amazing that someone would be willing to give their life up for it? Was it honestly its own world, a world so amazing that once you got in you couldn't get out? Hikaru had always wanted to be a soccer player; he never considered anything to do with academics important. Go was a very intellectual game though, he didn't know if he would like it. In fact Hikaru was sure he would hate it. So why wouldn't the thought of go leave his brain? Why was it stuck? Why couldn't he forget the happiness on Sai's face when he replayed the dream in his head? With these thoughts swirling through his mind, Hikaru finally fell into an uneasy rest.

"Hikaru, are you sure you're okay?" His mother asked. After the incident last week with him blacking out and all, everyone had been fussing over him which he found really annoying, as fussing usually meant a total lack of privacy

"Yes mom, I'm fine, trust me!" Hikaru exclaimed while trying to fend off her fluttering hands. He felt a headache coming on; no thanks to the ghost that kept pestering him to play go.

"Hikaruuuuu where are we going?" Sai called out, as soon as Hikaru made it out of the house

"A go salon"

"Reallly? I can play go? Really?"

"Yup, you can play all the go you want, congrats, you got your wish" Hikaru smiled at Sai "besides it might be kinda interesting, after a game that could drive someone to suicide has to be at least some fun"

"That's one way to look at it…" Sai looked at Hikaru excitedly; no doubt he thought that Hikaru would become interested in the game

"What? Just because go is your world doesn't mean that it's mine, I'm more concerned about soccer." Hikaru tried to fend off Sai's stare, but to tell the truth, Hikaru really was curious, he wondered how go was so interesting, from what he saw it was two people placing stones onto a grid, but if it could drive this happy carefree Sai to suicide, perhaps there was a deeper meaning to it

"Hello, welcome, is this your first time here?" The clerk at the desk asked him

Hikaru shook himself to get rid of his thoughts, "hai" he grinned at the young girl sheepishly

"That's ok," she smiled warmly at him, but then it was probably just part of her job "just write down your name and rank here," she pushed a clipboard towards him

"ok," Hikaru stared the empty spot marking his rank quizzically

"oh, it's ok if you don't know your rank, just leave it empty for now, first time is on the house" she smiled again

"oh, ok, thanks, sorry this is my first time playing at a salon" Hikaru smiled gratefully, then looked inside the salon "|damn they're all old people|" he thought disappointedly

"Hikaru! Respect your elders" Sai reprimanded him

"|hai, hai, sometimes your like my mother, sometimes your like a dog, I seriously don't get you|" Hikaru sighed, before spotting someone his own age at a table by himself

"Oh, look there's a kid! Can I play him?" Hikaru asked the clerk while pointing at the boy sitting by himself

"I'm not-"

"Sure" The boy walked over "My name is Touya Akira, come to the back, we'll play a game"

"Touya are you sure-" the clerk started to protest, Touya just flashed her a quick smile before leading Hikaru to a table in the back

"I'm Shindou Hikaru, 6th grade"

"I'm in 6th grade too." Touya smiled at him "How many stones handicap do you want?" Touya asked while pulling out chairs for both of them

"I don't need a handicap! After all, we're the same age right?" Hikaru somehow felt like Sai really didn't want to play with a handicap, on the second thought, how did he even know what a handicap was?

"Hah, playing against Touya-sensei without a handicap, he's gone crazy!" one of the customers snickered

Touya for his part just looked flustered "ah, ok, well, then you take black."

"Hikaru, Hikaru! Bow to him over the board and say "Onegaishimasu"" Sai told him

"o-o-Onegaishimasu" Hikaru did as Sai instructed him to do, in response Touya looked quite surprised but repeated the gesture

"14-16, komoku"

Surprisingly Hikaru knew exactly where Sai wanted him to place the stone, his hand reached into the goke and lifted out a black stone and placed it on the 3-4 point

Touya responded with 4-16 hoshi

"14-3, komoku"

Once again Hikaru knew exactly where to place the stone, and once again his hand placed the stone in the right spot. Hikaru could feel the happiness radiating off Sai, but then it was gone, replaced by a much more serious aura. When Hikaru glanced up, he saw that Touya was concentrated on the board as well.

Pa-chi, Touya responded with 4-4 hoshi

"15-13, mokuhazushi"

As the game progressed, Hikaru got more and more confused. He really couldn't follow the games at all, however his hand always knew where to place the stone. He could understand the basic concept behind the game, but this game had long ago gone off into the zone of no return.

"Hikaru, do you understand the game now?" Sai asked him, once Touya stopped for a long moment staring at the board

Mutely Hikaru nodded "|hai, but how? I never learned go before and this is my first time actually seeing a game in full.|"

"I told you before that the dream I sent you taught you to play. But it wouldn't have worked if you weren't talented and interested in go" Sai smiled at him "Can you see how wonderful go is now? The endless possibilities?"

"|hai|"

"Makemashita" Touya croaked out, still staring at the board

"Arigatô Gozaimasu, say it Hikaru! Then bow over the board again"

"Arigatô Gozaimasu" Hikaru said as he bowed over the board. He began to put the stones away, somehow he knew that this was how a go game ended

"Who-who are you?" Touya whispered, his head still down, staring at the game as if he couldn't understand how he had been beaten.

Shindou panicked, "|what do I say? What should I do?|"

"I don't know, run away, run away Hikaru!" gone was the serious Sai, once again he was the frantic child

"Um, I have to go. Ja na" Hikaru booked it out of there with Sai in tow

"How was-" The clerk was cut off abruptly as the door was slammed "oh, well can't blame him, must be painful to lose by that large a margin." She sighed

"Touya-sensei lost?"

"What? No way, no way Touya-sensei could lose!"

"Who is that kid?"

"He resigned, Touya-sensei resigned!"

The murmurs of the go salons clients startled the clerk, who immediately ran over herself to see the game. What met her eyes was the dejected face of the teenage go genius Touya Akira staring at the board in front of him in wonder.

"Touya, is it true that you lost?" She asked him worriedly, hoping that it wasn't true

"hai, who is he? Why have I never heard of him before?" Touya whispered in amazement

"When he came in he didn't even know his rank! I thought he was just another boy who wanted to learn how to play go"

"What? He didn't know his own rank?

"Not only that, he said that it was his first time playing in a salon, from what I got from it, it seemed like his first time playing a game at all"

"Who-who is he? How can he be so strong if this is his first time playing? He held the stones like a professional and I could feel the power just radiating off him."

"I don't know" The clerk fell silent, she knew that Touya wanted to be alone with the game he had just lost, so she shoo-ed everyone away and went back to her post at the front desk pondering how the go-genius the world was waiting for could have just lost a game to a nobody.

"Ne, ne, hikaru? Are we going to play go again?" Sai was getting restless, dancing around Hikaru on his tippy-toes, trying to distract him from whatever was so captivating about the book in front of him, after all didn't Hikaru hate books? But then this one was a picture book…

"Sai! Go away! Don't you remember what happened when I played Touya-what's his face?"

"But aren't you interested in it? After all you seemed quite awed when the game between "Touya-what's his face" and I ended" Sai still hadn't stopped that annoying little dance that involved him spinning around hikaru and sticking his face along with the tears in hikaru's face at every possible interval

"Go is interesting, it's just I need to focus on school now" Hikaru replied exasperated, using one hand to fend off Sai

"Is the book in front of you schoolwork Hikaru" Sai knew he had backed Hikaru in a corner, there was no way a book with that many pictures could be schoolwork

"Mou! Ok we'll go to the go salon, but if I get tackled by that Touya guy, I know who to blame!" Standing up he gingerly put away his manga and stomped down the stairs

"But Hikaru, don't you want to play?" Sai called frantically from behind his as he tried to catch up

"|Yah, but if I suddenly played Touya, you think he wouldn't see that you are about a million times stronger than me?|"

"But there must be a place where you can play! I know, why don't you play me?"

"|Because you'd beat my ass and hand it back on a golden platter?|" Hikaru was seriously getting tired of Sai, puppy-dog eyes or not

"But it'd be good practice! Also you can put on a costam, and glasses so no one would recognize you when you play!" Sai pleaded

"|You mean costume Sai? And besides that would just make me look stupid!|"

"but you'll play against me sometime right? right, Hikaru?

"|what'll we play on?|" Hikaru knew that he was fighting a losing battle, it's just that when Sai turned the puppy dog eyes on full blast, not even the most evil person in the world could not resist

"Get a globan!"

"|I have no money|" even to Hikaru's ears it sounded like a weak excuse

"What about the one you found me on?" Sai smiled, he knew he had won

""Alright, fine, you win, I'll ask grandpa""

"Yay! Yay! I get to play Hikaru, I get to play Hikaru!" Sai exclaimed ecstatically.

"|aren't you making too much of a racket over one new opponent, that hasn't even played a game before?|" Hikaru thought drily, "Mom I'm heading out!" He called

"But it's almost lunch!"

"It'll be fine, I'll just buy some ramen." Hikaru's stomach rumbled at the thought of ramen

"Alright, just be back before 5!" She called out after him

"Hai, hai,"

"So I really get to play go again?" Sai asked him

"|Yes, you can play go again, just one game though okay? You heard my mother, I have to be home before 5.|"

"Hai!"

_Ding_

The clerk looked up, finding the boy with bleached bangs walk in the salon

"It's you! You were the one that defeated Touya!" She recognized him immediately.

Immediately people started to crowd around, seeing if they could recognize him, if he really was that skilled then there was no way that he could just be an unknown face right?

"Uh, yah, is he here?" Hikaru tried to escape the throng of people who seemed keen on suffocating him

"I'm right here"

Hikaru turned around to see Touya at the table where they had played their last game, "Uh, I kinda wanted to play you again, it's been a while since I've met someone as strong as you"

"You're not an insei?" Touya asked surprised

"insei? What's an insei?" Hikaru asked, he had never heard the term before, and the fact that Touya had thought he was one made it all the more curious

"They are people who are studying to become a pro…" Touya looked absolutely stupefied

"What? There are such things as a professional go player? What do they do?" Hikaru asked completely shocked

"They play go for a living, they teach and share their thoughts and compete for titles…" The whole go salon seemed like a wax museum, everyone was frozen, looking at this boy who probably had the skills to rival Touya Meijin standing there not knowing that there was such a thing as a go pro

"So you mean, you can make a living off playing go?" Hikaru asked completely thunderstruck, having no idea of his words effect on the people surrounding him

"h-hai"

"Oh…" Hikaru shook his head "|well that was new, I never thought you could live your life playing only go|" "well will you play me? just not here 'cause I don't have the 500 yen entry fee,"

"Hikaru I want to become this so called "go-pro" Sai jumped around looking like a lost child that had just found it mommy, only to see her turn her back on him

"|I'll see what I can do|"

"It's fine we can play here right?" Touya looked at the clerk

"Ah, yah, it's fine, as long as you hold a discussion afterwards"

"|Discussion, discussion? What am I going to do|" Hikaru thought

"Don't worry, I'll tell you what to say, can we please play now?" Sai was getting impatient, looking at Touya's eyes reminded him of his childhood.

"Um, yah sure, why not?" Hikaru said in response, then following Touya to the game table, bowed over the board "Onegaishimasu"

"Onegaishimasu"

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><p>Sooo, this is the beta'd version. A lot better right? So like a good writer I'm going to define what all the japanese words meant. Nantalith pointed out that many people wouldn't understand what the japanese meant so...forgive any wrong definitions :)<p>

Makemashita: I lost. In a game situation it means "I have lost" Literally

Arigato Gozaimasu: Thank you very much. This one I'm sure about :) in a game situation it would mean "Thank you for the game"

Hai: Yes sir, yah, sure. Basically agreement

Gomen: A shortened version of Gomenasai which means "sorry" or "I am sorry"

Sensei: teacher

Onegaishimasu: In a game situation it would mean "Please do" as in "please start the game" (thanks again to NobodyinParticular)

Ja na: Slang for "see you later." At least I think it's slang. It could also mean "bye"

Ne: This one's hard. I think it's a way of catching someone's attention like "Hey"

Mou: "is an expression of annoyance" in NobodyinParticular's words :D

Okay, so I'm done playing "Your Personal Translator" sooooo R&R everyone! PLZ :D


	3. Chapter Two

The one thing i hate about art-centered learning schools? They add so much art in all the knowledge is crammed into the last month of school, and then add art to that and BAM 10 projects at once...god help me :'(

**Disclaimer: I think i said this in all of my previous chapters but hikaru no go does not belong to me... i am not going to cry this time...not going to cry...n-n-n-not...g-g-going...to-to-to...cryyyyyyyyy *sob, sob, sob***

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><p><em>Pa-chi <em>

Touya looked down at the board, it was the same as last time, no matter where he placed the stone, Shindo always seemed to have the perfect counter. All of his escape routes were cut off, and he could see no possible avenue of attack.

"Makemashita" He bowed over the board, his loss this time was easier to take since he knew what to expect

"Arigato gozaimasu" Hikaru started to clear away the board, only to remember he had to discuss the game "|Sai? Sai? What do I do?|" he panicked

"Relax, just clear away the board and repeat what I say" Sai was obviously satisfied after the 2 hour long game

Touya looked at Shindo expectantly

"|Sai?|" Hikaru tried to look like he knew what he was doing as he folded his hands in his lap and looked at the board seriously

"He wants you to recreate the game, go to the 56th hand, that's where he made a mistake"

"|Oh, okay, thanks|" Hikaru was relieved that it wasn't something way out of his league

"First hand 4—"

_Pa-chi, pa-chi, pa-chi, pa-chi,_

Sai was cut off by Hikaru placing all the stones correctly up 'till the 56th hand. Shocked all Sai could do was stare at Hikaru in amazement as he put down the last stone

"|SAI! Back me up here! I have no idea what I'm doing!|" Hikaru practically shouted at Sai in his mind

"Hikaru…how did you know where all the stones went?" Sai was still in a state of shock

"|huh?|" Hikaru paused to think "|I just do, it's not that hard. Why? Did I do something wrong?|"

"No…say Hikaru, can you remember the game I played against Touya last time as well?" Sai asked, hopefully awaiting the answer. Perhaps the reason he was attached to this boy who apparently had no interest in go wasn't just a coincidence, after all remembering a game you had only watched came with years of practice.

"|yah, why?|" Hikaru however had no idea that he could be go-prodigy in the making

"Nothing, just wondering," Sai stared at Hikaru in a new light, if Hikaru really could remember both games when those two games were the only ones he had ever seen in his life, then perhaps Hikaru could be a candidate to find the hand of god as well.

"Shindo-san? Should we start the discussion now?" Touya found this boy quite strange, he was an amazing go-player, and yet no one knew of him in the professional go world. Not even his father, Touya Meijin or Ogata-san had heard of him before.

"Huh, oh, hai, um…" Hikaru stalled "|SAI!|"

"Gomen! Touya extended too much here, if he had played a hane over here, then I would've been restricted to the left, but by playing the hand he did i was able to extend my territory into the center. Other than that he made no mistakes, it was just a difference in skill."

Stuttering over a few words Hikaru repeated what Sai said making some minor alterations.

Touya stared at Shindo, was he just nervous or was there something else going on? Could this boy truly know nothing of the go world? How could he be so good? The skill Hikaru possessed was one gained by studying for decades, where had he learned his go from? He had to find out,

"Um, excuse me if I'm being rude, but how long have you been playing go?" Touya asked

"Ah, um, well…. I…" Hikaru turned to Sai "|HELP! How long have you been playing go?|"

"a few centuries" Sai replied with a smiling face

"That doesn't help!" unknowingly Hikaru had shouted it out loud

"What doesn't help?" The mystery that was Shindo Hikaru just got that much more complicated.

"ah, nothing, gomen, I have to go. Sorta" Hikaru was absolutely mortified, how could he have forgotten that Sai was a ghost? The people in the salon must've have thought he was crazy not to mention Touya. Kicking his seat back he ran out the door…again.

Touya looked at the rapidly retreating back of Shindo, no one had been able to stupefy him before, but this boy had done it. 4 times.

The clients who had been watching their game were equally shocked, everyone seemed to have forgotten that the boy had won as they scattered back to their own respectable tables to continue their own games. Mutters could be heard over the clacking of the stones, no one was satisfied with just knowing that their was another go-prodigy out there, they wanted their akira to be the only one, not that a rival would have been bad, but Akira hardly knew this Hikaru and had been beaten by him badly both times.

"Akira-san, are you ok?" the clerk asked worriedly, she didn't want to believe that Akira could have lost twice to the same person, but it was the truth.

"Hai, I'm fine" He replied shakily

"whew that was close, it's 3 already, how 'bout we go to grandpa's, get some dinner, and ask for a goban?" Hikaru asked as he waited for the crosswalk sign to turn green

"Yay! Hikaru was serious when he said we could play each other!" Sai shouted excitedly

"What? You didn't believe me?" Hikaru was offended

"I believed you, i really did! Hikaruuuu don't ignore me!" Sai pleaded "Wait! Hikaru? what if one of these big metal monsters run us over?" Sai suddenly stopped in the middle of the road

Hikaru sighed as he walked back to him and grabbed his hand, ignoring the weird looks people were shooting him "|it's fine, you see that green light? if it's red then it means we can't walk, but if it turns green then we can walk without the metal monsters running over us, k?|"

"but, how does it know when to turn green?" Sai stared at the light which was now flashing yellow

"|oh, shit, that means it's almost red again, come on I'll explain it to you later|" Pulling Sai along by force Hikaru booked it to the sidewalk just in time

"Hikaru! Tell me how does that light thingy work?"

"|We're almost at grandpa's|" Hikaru stalled, talking about the light thingy as Sai put it would be a long conversation, he wasn't ready for such mental weariness yet. Last time he had told Sai about men walking on the moon, it had taken nearly the whole night to pacify his curiosity.

"Hikaru why does this place look so familiar?" Sai asked once he looked around a bit more

"|familiar?|" Hikaru looked up and put two and two together "|you said you taught the emperor right? this is the imperial garden, the structure's nearly the same, but now it's open to the public.|"

Sai looked around, this place had brought back so many memories, not all painful ones but it still hurt to think of the past. This time he could see the beauty of the flowers, but he could not tough or smell it. In a way it made him seem even more lonely, he was not a part of this world anymore. Sai started to question his existence again, why had he remained on earth for so long? What was God's intention?

"|Sai, are you ok?|" Hikaru asked as he stopped in front of a traditional styled house, the house reminded him of torajirou. But it was best not to think such thoughts right now, that could be saved untill nighttime when Hikaru was sleeping

"yes, i am perfectly fine!" Sai had put on his childish grin on again, banishing his depressed thoughts

"|ok, then|" Hikaru knocked on his grandfather's door

"Oh, hikaru! how rare to see you here, if you came for money I'm afraid I can't give you any, your mother scolded me the last time I did" His grandfather stepped away from the door to let Hikaru in

"No it's fine, I didn't come to ask for money" Hikaru toed off his shoes by the door

"Good, good, come into the kitchen for some tea" Heihachi started the kettle

Hikaru walked in, it was different from last time, the goban was no longer in this room and it had seemed that his grandfather had taken down some of the old calligraphy and put up new ones. Not that hikaru would ever tell him he noticed, but still, it was unlike his grandfather to redecorate the room. Even the scent was different, it smelled of lavender instead of ink.

"No, actually I'm kind of in a hurry" Hikaru shook off such thoughts, he was here for a purpose

"Well, then why did you come?"

"Um, well, i was wondering if i could have that abandoned goban in your attic" Hikaru looked at his feet

"Since when were you interested in go, hikaru?" said a very befuddled Heihachi

"Well...um...say if i beat you in a game, will you give it to me?" Hikaru knew that his grandpa would respond in...

"Do you know who you're talking to? The famous Heihachi Shindo who was a respectable amateur back in the day! And you think you can beat me?"

that manner, "yah, yah, let's play" "|Sai, i just got you another game, you better win or we're not getting the goban!|"

"Of course Hikaru, I'll win!" Sai looked at the board with a new determination "|eh? Hikaru where is the goban?|"

"|dunno know|"

"How much handicap do you want?" Heihachi asked as he led the way onto the porch where the goban sat

"You gotta be kidding me! A handicap? Against you? You're the one who need the handicap!" Hikaru joked

"Fine, fine, nigiri, nigiri"

_clack_

"I'm white"

"Ne, are you sure you don't want a handicap!"

"Shut up baka ojichan! Place your stone already!"

"Alright..." Heihachi placed his stone "|kids these days, they really think too highly of themselves, guess I'll just play a teaching game with him, a 2 moku loss should satisfy him..|" Heihachi thuoght to himself

clack

clack

clack

clack

"|Ne Sai, doesn't this board sound different from the one at the go salon?|"

"That's because it's made of a different type of wood, and the stones are made out of different material. You haven't played on a kaya board yet, that makes an even better sound! 16-18"

clack

"|oh...|"

Heihachi's eyes bulged, in a little over 50 moves Hikaru had already cut off all of his escape routes. This was impossible! Hikaru hadn't even shown any interest in go until today, he couldn't have gotten this good this fast!

clack

Heihachi decided to play a bit more to see if it was just a fluke

clack

"|The garden's really pretty today, I never really noticed how clear the sky is today, there are almost no clouds...|" Hikaru thought as he looked around the newly improved garden

clack

"Hikaru! pay attention to the game! 4-9"

"|But Sai, he lost already, this is just boring now|"

Sai forgot about the game at hand as he stared at Hikaru, his suspicions about Hikaru having an ocean of go talent was reinforced "hikaru how did you know that?"

clack

"|What do you mean? His escape routes are obviously all cut off, and he has no where to go, unless he captures the middle, which considering your skill is impossible|"

"Hikaru, have you played go before you met me?"

"|No, why?|"

"the knowledge you posses now comes with years of experience, 15-19"

"|Oh stop trying to make me feel better about myself, why isn't he resigning? He just lost the middle!|" Hikaru didn't find this game as exciting as the one he played against Touya, strangely he felt dissapointed

"|Some people are just stubborn" Sai hid his face behind his fan

Heihachi stared at the board unwilling to believe that his grandson could be so good at go, maybe he had been secretly learning go behind his back for years? But that made no sense why would he hide it?

"|Well, I'm getting sick of this, there's obviously no way for him to win now!|"

"Come on baka ojichan, resign already, you've lost" Hikaru bursted out

"Hikaru! That was rude, apologize!" Sai was shocked at how Hikaru treated his grandpa, after all during the heian era such disrespect towards your elders could result in expulsion

"Fine, I lost," Heihachi started to get up, desperately hoping that Hikaru didn't know the go formalities yet.

"Say it formally, come on!" Hikaru found the perfect opportunity to torture his grandpa

"Makemashita, happy?"

"Yup!" Hikaru got up grinning

"HIKARU! Respect your elders!" Sai scolded him

"|says the guy who just whipped his ass off the goban|"

"Well...that was different, and i'm older than him by at least 900 years!" Sai shot back

"|hai, hai|" Hikaru giggled inside

"Say, Hikaru have you ever thought of becoming an insei?" Heihachi looked at him over his teapot

"Insei? Touya mentioned that before, but i still don't get what it is"

"TOUYA! AS IN TOUYA-SENSEI?" Heihachi dropped the pot of boiling kettle on the floor not even bothering to clean it up

"Well, now that you mention it, a lot of the patrons in the salon called him that..." Hikaru was still completely oblivious to the shocking effect his words had on his grandfather.

"YOU PLAYED TOUYA-SENSEI?" Heihachi's eyes were almost bursting out of their sockets now

"Why does everyone call him that? Is he famous or something? I mean everyone seemed really angry when i beat him..." Hikaru trailed off, only just thinking that Touya Akira could have been a go prodify

"...you...b-b-beat...t-t-t-touya...?..."

_THUMP_

"Ojichan? Ojichan? Hey get it together, what's wrong? Wake up!"

* * *

><p>Beep<p>

Beep

Beep

Beep

White, it was all white, not to mention completely silent; if you so much as sneezed in here you would be on the receiving end of many death glares. It was suffocating to sit in a hard plastic chair doing nothing. Hikaru knew that the only reason his grandfather was even in a hospital was due to him. Not that anyone believed him, after all fainting due to the fact your grandson defeated someone at go wasn't really an everyday excuse. Sai however proved to be a worthy distraction as he ran around trying to figure out how modern machines worked.

"ne, ne, Hikaru? What's making that beeping noise?"

"|it's the heart monitor Sai, if it stops beating then it means ojichans dead|"

"hikaru, it wasn't your fault, besides didn't that women in a white dress say that he would be fine?" Sai really did have two personalities, how he managed to switch between them at random would always confuse Hikaru to no end

"|well yah, but I still worry. I didn't know that ojichan would faint because I beat some kid at go!|"

"Hikaru that "kid" as you put it, is an amazing go player, I wouldn't be surprised if he was already famous in the go world, which your grandfather seemed to be part of"

"|ok, ok, you win, I'm going to get some coke|"

Hikaru stood up, nervously rummaging in his pocket to see if he had the 150 yen required to make the purchase. Seeing that he had enough he started to walk down the corridor, still mentally conversing with Sai.

"Hikaruuu! Is that one of the things that magically gives you drinks?" The childish Sai was back

"|no, it takes this money|" Hikaru gestured at the coins "|and gives me a drink in return for it|"

"with magic!"

"|no, with modern-oof|"

"gomen! I wasn't watching where I was going!" Hikaru quickly scrambled up and bowed to the man he had just crashed into

"It was partly my fault as well, please excuse me" The man bowed in return and started to walk away

Hikaru started, who wore a kimono in modern day Japan? Either the man was very old fashioned or into cosplay, he hoped it was the former.

"|Sai?|" Hikaru turned to his ever present friend to share his thoughts

"|Sai? You ok? What's wrong?|"

"Hikaru, when that man walked by, I felt the presence of a very strong fighting aura, someday I hope I may have the chance to play him"

"| Whoa, all I did was crash into the dude, how would you even know if he was a go player or not?|"

"His aura Hikaru, did you not feel it? The overwhelming aura of a strong go player" Sai was still staring longingly at the retreating man's back

"|Maybe, though all I felt was the rush of being knocked to the ground|"

"No, that was the excitement of meeting a strong opponent"

"|Whatever you say Sai|" Hikaru looked towards the vending machine where his 100 yen coin had disappeared under, he sighed "|Let's go back, I don't have enough money to buy a drink anymore|"

"Shindo Hikaru , Shindo Heihachi has asked to see you" A nurse called out looking at her clipboard

Unknown by both Sai and Hikaru, Touya Meijin, the man Hikaru had unknowingly ran into, turned at the familiar name, looking at Hikaru with a light in his eyes that had not been there before.

Hikaru ran past her and stopped before the ominous white door, calming his heart and breath. Smiling politely at the nurse who was now staring at him as if he might be the next mental patient she would have to look after, he knocked on the door and waited

"Come in" The answer was immediate

Opening the door slowly, Hikaru found himself in yet another white room. What was with hospitals and their love of white? The sunlight peeked through a gap in the old granny curtains showing a bland room full of machines that looked really complex, a metal bed, and his wonderful, beloved ojichan, not that he would ever say that out loud. To Hikaru's relief his ojichan looked perfectly fine, reading a go magazine while calmly sipping a glass of water.

"Hey, what's up?" Hikaru asked as he pulled up a metal chair

"Here, take a look at this" Heihachi handed over the magazine he was looking at, determined to teach Hikaru everything about the go world

"Hey, isn't this Touya! And wait! This is that old man dressed in a kimono that I crashed into outside!" Hikaru exclaimed "What are they doing in a magazine?"

Heihachi stared at his grandson in disbelief, was it just his runaway thoughts or did Hikaru have a knack of running into the most peculiar people at the most peculiar times? At least the misunderstanding of Hikaru beating Touya-sensei was cleared up, after much thought Heihachi was convinced that Hikaru had played Touya-sans son, Akira, and this just confirmed it. Not that defeating Touya Akira wasn't an impressing act in itself.

"Hikaru, these two people are father and son, Touya Meijin is the top go player in Japan, and Touya Akira is his son, a rising go player who has yet to take the pro exam"

"Oh, really? I was wondering who he was, he was really good, it was a hard game to take" Hikaru was still staring at the magazine in fascination, more importantly a picture of a finished game with numbers on the stones. Just looking at it Hikaru could tell that Black had won, but only barely, maybe just a ½ moku loss for white. "Hey what's this" Hikaru asked pointing to the picture

Heihachi just about fell off the bed, how could he not even know that? It was like Hikaru had just watched a game and figured out how to play go from just that, it would certainly explain the fact that he knew next to nothing about the go world. Not that it was humanly possible, but it was the only explanation that he could come to. "Why don't you tell me?"

"Um, well, it's a finished go game, black won, though if they had played out to the end then white would have only lost by about 1 point, um, they are both really good go players, but white is more aggressive while black is more balanced."

Sai forgot about all the interesting machines that surrounded him when he heard Hikaru speak, this was advanced knowledge, even for a go pro. Hikaru was a diamond in the rough; no he was more like a mountain of diamonds just waiting to be found. Sai came to a decision, he would teach Hikaru to the best of his extent, perhaps the person to help Sai find the hand of god was not anyone in the go magazine Hikaru held in his hands right now, but Hikaru himself.

Heihachi however came to a different conclusion, there was no way that Hikaru could have learned this much in under a week, Hikaru was hiding something from him and he would find out what it was. It would take a lot of patience to worm it out of him, but the one thing Heihachi never lacked was patience. "It's called a kifu, this one is a recording of a game played between Touya Meijin and Ogata-9p, and your right, Touya Meijin did win this match, putting Ogata out of the Juuden league."

"What's a Juuden league, do they, like, play go there or something?"

Heihachi looked at Hikaru "Do you know absolutely nothing about the go world?"

"Hai!" Hikaru smiled, at least his ojichan didn't have that scary serious face on anymore, he hoped that his ojichan wouldn't pry into his fast understanding of go, but considering his nature it was very likely he would. Hikaru would have to be very careful around his grandfather now.

"Go to the bookstore and buy a book called _Japan's Go Institute and History _It'll tell you all about the go world, it might be boring but now at least you won't look like a complete idiot when you talk about go."

"Hikaru, buy this book, I want to know more about the go world!" Sai pleaded with him

Sometimes Hikaru swore that if you took all the tears Sai had shed so far, you could fill up an Olympic sized swimming pool.

"But ojichan, I've got no more money!" Hikaru saw this as a perfect chance to get some more money to spend

"Then go to the library!" Heihachi was not going to fall for that trick again

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxXxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"Otosan," Touya bowed respectfully as his father walked to the game room,

"Akira, I wish to speak to you after my match today," Touya addressed his son

"Hai" Touya wandered off to the lounge area wondering what his father wanted to talk to him about, it wasn't often that his father sought him out to talk, Touya Meijin was a very busy person after all, it wasn't easy to stand at the top of the Japanese go world.

"Touya -san! Touya-san" Amano ran from the elevators in an attempt to catch Touya Meijins son before he dissapeared again

Touya turned slowly, as if he could ever forget that voice, he just knew that he would want another interview with him. "Hai?" He replied politely

"Touya-san" Amano stopped to catch his breath "I was wondering if I could have an interview with you about your father's entrance into the Juudan league"

"Gomennasai, perhaps another time? My father wishes to speak with me after the match today, I do not wish to keep him waiting" Touya looked genuinely sorry as he delivered this line. He didn't like speaking for his father, the only reason he was so famous today was because of his fathers amazing skills in go, once his goal had been to surpass his father but now he only wished to defeat the mysterious Shindo Hikaru.

"Ah, well then, another time" Amano tried not to show his disappointment as he walked slowly back to the elevator, all that running for nothing! It was unlike Touya to refuse an interview, but if his father Touya Meijin wanted to speak with him then it made sense

Touya resumed his walk to the lounge area, many of the patrons who visited the go institutes salon shot him stares, but none came up to him to ask if he was truly Touya Meijins son. He stopped by the fish tank, he knew they were fake but the lulling movement of the fish helped calm him, and the quiet music helped him tune out the murmuring that seemed to follow him non-stop

"Ah, I see you also have an interest in fish"

Touya jumped, he looked at the clock on the wall, 2 hours had already passed! "Ogata-san, are you finished your game already?" Touya asked trying not to show the shock that Ogata had just given him

"Of course! Sometimes i have no idea how some people even managed to become pro, let alone an 8-dan!" Ogata fumed, obviously his game today had left him unsatisfied

"Is my father finished with his game yet?"

"Ah, yes, he's almost done, their counting points right now, that reminds me, its rare to see you wait for your father to finish his game before leaving"

"Otosan wanted to talk with me after his game, it sounded urgent" Touya let some of his anticipation leak into his voice

"oh-ho-ho if touya meijin sounded urgent then it must be very surprising new indeed, perhaps i should stick around"

Ogata jumped, the cigarette that never seemed to leave his mouth came flying out and he stomped it out with his foot. Everyone knew that the title that Ogata was going for seriously this year was the one Kuwabara Honinbo held.

"Kuwabara sensei" Touya bowed

"There seems to be quite a crowd here" Touya Meijin remarked as he walked over to where 3 very accomplished go players stood

"Otosan, did you win your game?" Touya asked out of mere politeness

"I did, now about what i wanted to talk to you before" Touya Meijin didn't like beating around the bush

"hai, what is it?" Even though his fathers bluntness unnerved many people, Akira was not one of them

"It's about the boy who beat you" The meijin carefully watched his sons face, just as he thought Akira's face broke out of the carefully composed mask he seemingly wore everyday

"Do you know who he is? Otosan, do you know him?" He totally forgot about proper conduct as he tried to pump his father for more information

"He bumped into me when i was at the hospital for a check up, he didn't look like a go player to me but when i brushed by him i felt a very strong fighters aura, at first i thought nothing of it until the nurse called his name, Shindo Hikaru, that was his name right?"

"Hai, so is he still at the hospital?"

"I would suppose so, but it seemed that his grandfather was there, you might want to be a little more polite when talking to him"

Touya looked down embarrassed, he had totally forgotten his manners in his eagerness to find out where Shindo Hikaru might be. "Shitsurei shimashita " Touya excused himself as he ran out the door

"Well that was a surprise, Akira-san doesn't lose his cool often, Shindo Hikaru eh? Gotta keep my eyes open" Kuwabara murmured to himself as he slowly walked away

"He gives me the shivers" Ogata muttered under his breath "well shall we go as well?"

"I think i will stay a bit longer, please excuse me" Touya Meijin excused himself as well

"Might as well get some fish food then" Ogata thought as he walked towards his car

oooooOOOOooooo

At the library, Hikaru looked through some books, "this is no fun" he thought as he browsed through yet another shelf of books, looking for even one mention of something related to the go institute. The librarian had told him that it would be in one of these 5 aisles but considering that there were hundreds of books to look through it didn't really raise his spirits. The ones he had found so far were spread out on a table for Sai to read as he pleased, of course Hikaru would have to stop his searching once every 5 minutes to turn the page for Sai, the people around him must've thought he was crazy.

"um, excuse me, are you using this table?" a boy with glasses walked over with a tsumego book tucked under his arm

"Um well, sorta, but you can sit there" Hikaru seriously hoped that this newcomer wouldn't pry, how could he explain that while he was looking for a book he was also flipping pages to books that were of advanced levels? Not to mention that the book he was looking for was one for beginners

"Ah, ok, arigatou" The boy sat down gingerly, trying not to stir the mountain of go books that were scattered around the table, upon a closer look, he noticed that most of the books on the table were either pro games, or very advanced go problems "Do you play go by any chance?" as soon as the words left his mouth he knew it was a stupid thing to ask, who would have this many high level go books out unless they were quite skilled at go?

"Ne, Hikaru flip the pages" Sai said eagerly, this new discovery fascinated his, it was amazing how much go had evolved over the last 100 years, especially this Touya Meijin, now that was someone he wanted to fight.

"|You're done already?|" Hikaru exclaimed as he stared down at the mess of go books, most of them just a meaningless jumble to him.

The newcomer looked very lost, he had only asked a question but the boy had gotten this very surprised shocked look on his face. Tsutsui knew it was a stupid question but surely it didn't warrant this type of reaction!

Hikaru started walking towards the the newcomer who was looking at him with an expectant look on his face. Ah, damn, he must have missed something the boy had said "Um, could you repeat that?" Hikaru asked sheepishly as he started flipping the pages to all of the books only glancing down at most of the pages as he did it

Tsutsui was even more baffled, why had the boy looked so shocked if he hadn't even heard what he said? And why was he just flipping the pages of these books with hardly a glance at any of them? No one could memorize stuff that fast! "I was wondering if you planned to take all those books out"

Hikaru laughed nervously, "Ah, probably not, I'm just looking for one book i just happened across those along the way"

"Please excuse my rudeness, but what book are you looking for? I might be able to help you"

Hikaru looked at the boy, he seemed like the type who hung around the library a lot "Thank! I'm Shindo Hikaru, I'm looking for a book called 'Japans go institute and history" I can't seem to find it anywhere!"

Tsutsui looked at the boy in shock, what was he doing looking at all these advanced books if he needed to read a beginners book like that? Sure it was a good reference if you wanted to learn more about the go world and rules but if he could solve problems of this level, he should already know all that right? "Ah, I'm Kimihiro Tsutsui, I think that book is in the next aisle" He told Shindo as he led the way and started looking under the catalogue area "anyways, why are you looking for this book?"

Hikaru tried to think of an excuse fast "oh, it's for a friend, he just started and i didn't feel like telling him everything" There that was good!

"Ah" it made a lot more sense now

"Hikaru! Turn the page!" Sai demanded from an aisle back

"|One sec!|" Hikaru turned to Tsutsui "excuse me one second" he looked apologetic as he ducked back to the other aisle to flip the pages for Sai

"|God Sai! Why do you have-|"

oomf

* * *

><p>Hikaru looked up to see a blond man looking at him weirdly, it was like he was sizing him up for something. Though what that something was Hikaru had no idea. Sai looked equally confused, it seemed he hadn't seen the man until Hikaru crashed headfirst into him. Was it just Sai's imagination or had Hikaru crashed into a lot of people lately?<p>

"Is your name by any chance Shindo Hikaru?" The man was seriously scary, wait did his glasses just glint?

"Uh, how do you know my name?" Hikaru was majorly freaked, Sai was hiding behind him shaking. He didn't like the look in this man's eyes

"Hey, Shindo i found it!" Tsutsui called as he turned the corner to see Shindo stuck in a stalemate with a stranger. Shindo looked completely petrified, tsutsui decided to save his newfound, maybe, go friend.

Striding nearer Tsutsui could make out some of the strangers features, he looked a lot like the go pro Ogata 9 dan, but why would Ogata 9 dan be in a stalemate with Shindo Hikaru. "Ogata 9 dan?" He called out experimentally, after all it never hurt to ask right?

Ogata, if it was Ogata, which Tsutsui was sure it was now that he was almost standing beside Hikaru, stared at Hikaru some more with that menacing look in his eyes, Tsutsui would have nightmares about it, in the magazines Ogata 9 dan didn't look nearly as scary as he did now in fact he looked kind of nice. But here...*shiver* it looked like he was ready to kill.

Ogata finally decided to speak up "Is it true? Were you the one who beat Touya Akira?"

Tsutsui dropped the book

* * *

><p>yes i know that it's still really close to the original storyline, but hopefully that changes after this chapter. also i didn't really edit this chapter so please tell me if there are any mistakes, also i think that this chapter is really confusing. I skipped a lot of stuff and it's really fast-paced. Suggestions would be appreciated :D and yes Hikaru's grandfather's name is Heihachi, i searched it up, check sensei's library if you don't believe me. If you have any questions just ask, i know that this chapter wasn't well written :D<p>

EDIT: so i put chapter 5 and 6 together as well, if it makes for too long of a chapter let me know, like i said i'm playing around with what makes YOU comfortable. I got a lot of comments saying i should make my chapters longer (or that's the gist of the message i got from devx) so i want to see if this length works, or should i switch it back to the short chapters i had before. Suggestion please! :D

EDIT: I've also been getting a lot of review saying my punctuation and grammar/spelling is bad, english is not my first language, in fact i only started speaking it when i was 10 years old, my english marks are only barely above passing level, so please excuse the bad punctuation/grammar/spelling, i want to get a beta only thing is i don't know how...any one willing to explain?


	4. Chapter Three

Hey, long time I know, I was busy with exams and all that. Still don't know my mark. either way, I tried to write this chapter in a different style so feedback would be nice. like I've said before, I'm a complete novice at writing, so hopefully this story will really help me improve my writing and English skills, but that can't happen if you guys don't tell me what's actually wrong with the story. Guess what I found? It's like a pot of gold; it's called…the thesaurus. Never knew anything like that existed, it's really a great help especially when I'm stuck on a word. It's my best friend now! As you can tell, my writing is actually easy to understand this time, that's cause i actually took my pill. Hopefully I'm not moving on too fast, this story is NOT going the way i want it to go, it's practically writing itself it that makes any sense :D anyway, i really tried to make this chapter 'work', description, detail, and all the other stuff that good writers have but i seriously lack, enjoy

EDIT: put chapter 4 and 5 together, just because apparently my A/N's are longer then my story. And for whoever left me that wonderful comment (insert sarcasm here) please elaborate on how I can improve my english. I'm pretty sure I mentioned that English is not my first language. It is my THIRD language. Just clearing that up. Please leave a more helpful comment next time. I try to take up all suggestions but your comment just told me my english sucked so... I _am_ taking english and I _am_ trying to improve. That being said I still LOVE reviews :D so R&R just no flames PLZ

**Disclaimer**: alright just a question, do i have to put a disclaimer on all my chapters? just in case, Hikaru no Go has never belonged to me and probably never will unless i suddenly win a lottery and buy the rights from Obata, Takashi and Hotta, Yumi.

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><p>The air was thick with tension; the once peaceful library now seemed like a battleground ready to explode in war. People had realized the danger unconsciously and their bodies moved away from the trio of its own accord.<p>

Ogata's temper was fraying, it had almost been 5 minutes and the boy had not yet answered a simple yes or no question. The boy who was standing next to Shindo had an expression torn between shock and disbelief; obviously the boy knew nothing more about Shindo than he did himself. "Well?" Ogata finally asked breaking the silence, there was an undercurrent to his voice and any rational human being would've known he would be ready to commit bloody murder if Shindo made him wait. The boy standing next to Shindo obviously noticed as his torn expression turned into one of concern, not only for himself but for Shindo as well. As naïve as Tsutsui was even he could tell that Ogata 9 dan was ready to use physical force in order to shake an answer out of Shindo

Shindo on the other hand had noticed the unvoiced threat from Ogata but didn't know how to respond in turn. He had just popped out from nowhere! Why was this happening to him? Hikaru wailed in his mind, causing Sai to look sympathetically at him. He only came to the library to brush up on modern go, so why of all things holy had this amazingly persistent and violent go player have to find him? Hikaru opened and closed his mouth like a dieing fish; he had no idea what to say. he gulped audibly as Ogata's eyebrow twitched. That wasn't a good sign, last time he check up, a twitching eyebrow clearly meant someone was at their limit. "Um…well you see," Hikaru finally managed to make his mutinous throat produce a litigable sound.

"Yes?" Ogata was at the end of his limit with this kid. He was quite ready to strangle him if he didn't spill the beans soon. He hated waiting and this boy tested his limit to no end. The only reason he restrained himself was because of the fact that is that if this kid truly beat Touya Akira, then he might be a valuable addition to the go world, and heaven knows that Japan really needed to improve their go.

"Hikaru, you know you can't hide from the go world forever if you ever want to improve" Sai spoke up as he saw the shell-shocked Hikaru "this is a turning point Hikaru, you can venture further into un-treaded ground or you can turn around here and go back to your normal life" Sai left out the part that if Hikaru really did choose the latter option Sai truly wouldn't know how to live on, well, ghost on

Hikaru thought about it some further. He knew that Sai would kill to play go so it must be killing him to even say the second choice out loud. He knew that despite Sai's truly annoying and persistent behavior, he would die to protect him. And albeit the fact that he was seemed to be crude and blunt, he really did care about people close to him, and to know that he would be the one to hurt Sai hurt him beyond belief. Add to that the fact that he was also interested in go, and his choice was practically made for him.

"Uh, hai, I guess you could put it that way…hehe…" Shindo glanced at Tsutsui and figured out the perfect plan to get out of this corner he had supposedly been cornered into.

"Hey, Tsutsui, thanks for finding that book, I really owe you one. We should meet up again sometime!" He chirped as he grabbed the book that Tsutsui had dropped on the ground in shock and ran for his life.

(just in case you're wondering Hikaru did sign out the book, just on the other side of the library, of course Ogata was too angry to notice that )

Tsutsui shrank away in fear; Shindo had just abandoned him to this angry tiger to make his own escape! Ogata who had never been patient to begin with felt his last straw break and turned to the next possible place to vent out his anger, and that just so happened to be the poor boy who just had to become friends with Shindo that day.

Tsutsui was shaking, no a better word would be quivering. He had seen the gleam in Ogata's eyes as he stalked towards him and he quite simply feared for his life

"You, you're friends with Shindo right? Please do tell me where he might've gone" Ogata asked the poor boy in a voice that would have frightened away a bear.

"I just met him today; I really don't know him that well!" Tsutsui backed away towards the check out counter "r-r-really, I r-r-really don't know him"

Ogata stared at the kid some more, finally he sighed, he would search out Akira tonight to play a game instead of taking it out on the kid who probably wasn't that good at go anyways. Turning his back sharply he stalked out of the library not noticing the sigh of relief behind him.

Clutching the tsumego book to his chest Tsutsui made a silent vow to kill Shindo the next time he saw him

~~~~~~~*)*)*)*(1 week later)*)**)~~~~~~~~~

"Ojichan!" Hikaru shouted as he leapt up the steps to the door

"Hikaru! what a nice surprise!" Heihachi stood up up dusting the dust off his pants. Ever since he had been discharged from the hospital he had waited eagerly in order to pry more information from Hikaru about his sudden improvement in go.

"Ojichan! I read the book, i want to become insei but they didn't say anything about it in the book!"

"what changed your mind?" Heihachi looked pleasantly surprised

"A reeaalllyyyy annoying friend who kept whining to no end about how there would be better go players there" at this Hikaru shot a glare to Sai who was currently standing behind his left shoulder. apparently Hikaru had not forgiven Sai for wailing during dinner and getting him grounded for 'unorderly conduct around company' then sai had blackmailed him by saying he wouldn't stop until Hikaru gave becoming pro a shot

Sai smiled sweetly, and turned his attention to the half finished game on the goban. From the looks of it, Heihachi-san had been playing himself

Heihachi decided to try and crack this nut "and who is this friend?"

"ah, you know, just someone" Hikaru replied reservedly "now back to my question, how do i become an insei?"

"there's a test coming up in a few weeks, it only happens 4 times a year, and it might be too late to register"

"oh, well i can try right! You'll help me won't you?" Hikaru knew that his mother wouldn't understand the process one bit

"ah, sure, if you want to try, how about we do it now, the go institute is only a 15 minute walk from here" Heihachi picked up his coat and started to walk towards the door

"ah, arigato" Hikaru murmured as he followed his grandpa out the door and onto the street

15 minutes later exactly they arrived at the go institute, it was a huge white building that was intimidating just to look at. Smiling at Hikaru's nervous reaction heihachi opened the door to reveal the poshly decorated interior

"can i help you?" the clerk called from the main lobby

"ah, hai, my grandson wants to take the insei exam" Heihachi pulled Hikaru to the desk

"well, it is a bit late? Do you have a recommendation by any chance?" The clerk typed into his keyboard as he said this, obviously he didn't think much about the bleached bang kid who looked more suited to be a jock.

At that moment Ogata chose to walk by the double glass door after finishing his game. Catching a glimpse of the bleached bangs he hurried inside to see what was going on

"oh come on! why can't i take the insei exam? please?" Hikaru was arguing with the clerk much to the amusement of Heihachi

"what's going on?" Ogata walked over calming his breath and slowing down his pace to a more predatory stalk

Hikaru whirled around, eyes wide open as he stared at Ogata in fear. He slinked back to the safety of the desk and backed away from the violence prone man

"This kid wants to take the pro exam, but he's about 3 days late for the application process!" The clerk was obviously enraged

"that's fine, i'll recommend him" Ogata spared a glance at the boy "I expect much from you" he smirked as he walked away

The clerk was in absolute shock, Ogata had never recommended anyone before, who was this kid? "fine then come again in 2 weeks, bring your parent, 13 570 yen, 3 kifus, and an application form, this is kifu paper and an application form. good luck" The clerk handed over the required materials and went back to typing on his computer

Hikaru grinned as he walked away, now all that was left was to convince his mother to let him study here.

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><p>It was a rainy day, dark, gloomy, and regrettably somber. It much reflected the feelings of one Hikaru Shindo. He had no idea why he had even agreed to this, sure he wanted to give his newfound friend happiness, but when it involved bringing his grades up from an 8 to a 60 he had trouble wondering how his mother got him to agree. Maybe he had gotten a little carried away in the moment but something this drastic should have caught his attention beforehand. Oh right! Sai was screaming in his ear the whole time, maybe that had something to do with it<p>

"13750 yen is a lot of money Hikaru" Said Mitsuko disapprovingly. What ever had brought this on she had no idea, but to say it was surprising in the least would be the understatement of the century.

"I know, but can you at least let me try?" Hikaru had anticipated this to some degree, but his mom was being unendingly stubborn.

"Goooooooo Hikaru! Go, go, go, Hikaruuuuuuuuuuuu!" Of course Sai was completely oblivious to the atmosphere that surrounded him and was cheering for Hikaru to embarrassing extents.

"|Sai! SHUT UP!|"

"But you just started playing the game! Isn't there another class that's nearer by and cheaper?" Mitsuko had doubts at times, she wondered if maybe she had dropped her poor Hikaru too many times as a baby and it was now affecting how his brain worked. No one would just up and out of the blue declare that they were going to spend 13750 yen on a game (!) they just started playing! Right?

"That class is for old geezers who suck at the game!" Hikaru was rapidly losing patience

"HIKARU! Respect your elders!"

"|do you want to take the exam or not Sai|" Hikaru gritted his teeth

"But you just started as well!" Mitsuko exclaimed

"I know, but just let me take the exam, please!" He was now reduced to pleading. Oh the extents he went to in order to please Sai.

"Fine" Hikaru's mom agreed doubtfully "but-"

"YAYAYAYAYAY! Hikaru missed the rest of the sentence as Sai glomped him and started singing praises.

"Thanks!" Trying not to choke as Sai was still clutching onto his neck, Hikaru made his way up the stairs.

Now that the euphoria from that moment had long worn off, Hikaru stood in the middle of the fancy lobby trying to fit in with the flow of teenagers and kids that seemed to be going to a room own the hall. He surmised that that was where the insei courses took place. The constant nagging thought of bringing up his grades kept niggling at the back of his brain and Hikaru just couldn't believe that now he would actually have to pay attention in class instead of falling asleep at every possible interval.

A girl came out of the office where the examination was taking place crying, quickly followed by her mother who looked completely and utterly lost as to what she should do. After a few minutes an elderly man came out carrying a clipboard.

"Shindo Hikaru, please come this way" He gestured at the boy with bleached bangs. Hikaru's reputation preceded him, Ogata had displayed an uncanny interest in him and so had Touya Meijin. Touya Akira went beyond the line of simple interest into an outright stalkerish attitude.

Clenching his fist to stop the sweat from flowing freely, Hikaru followed the elderly man into the intimidating office. Of course Hikaru wouldn't be the one playing the game but the man was studying him like he was an alien. Unnerved he winced as he settled down into the seiza position in front of the goban.

"Um, excuse me, how long will the examination take?"

Both Hikaru and the examiner jumped, Hikaru had forgotten his mother was accompanying him in the midst of all his worries, and the examiner had outright missed her in his intense scrutiny of her son.

"About an hour or so, you're free to wait outside" Gathering his wits about him, the examiner also sat down in seiza across from Hikaru.

"Ah, thanks. Hikaru I'll be outside in the lounge having tea. Come get me when you're done ok?"

"Ah, sure" Hikaru passed the resume and kifus to the examiner

Studying the papers passed to him the examiners eyebrows shot up at the mention of how long Hikaru had actually been playing the game.

"You say you've only been playing for a month? (!)" Disbelief colored his voice

"Well I've only started actually studying it this month. I knew about it before but didn't really play it" Hikaru rubbed his neck sheepishly, he had only been playing for a month, but since Sai was the one who was actually playing he couldn't really write down 1000 years now could he?

Harrumphing the examiner studied the kifus. This time his eyes bulged, the level of this kid was easily at pro level, no not even pro, at title holder level. Though the way he played was about 100 years out of date, but there was no way of denying the elegance that he played with. He pointed to the first kifu "You were black correct?"

"Hai"

"Who was white?"

"Touya Akira"

The examiner choked, THE Touya Akira? "When did you play this game?"

"A few weeks back"

Clearing his throat the examiner turned to the board "You're black, there will be no handicap, please begin"

"|Sai|" Hikaru thought to the ghostly man that never failed to be at his side, though at times it got annoying. Like the time Sai had followed him to the toilet and-no, think, game, game.

"You play the first hand Hikaru" Sai wanted to see if Hikaru could see the possible routes himself.

Hikaru scrutinized the board. Sai usually played a komoku at the beginning and he didn't want to ruin the game.

Pa-chi

Pa-chi

"|Now what Sai?|"

"Keep playing" Sai smiled, it seemed Hikaru was going after his style of play.

Pa-chi, Hikaru placed another stone at 16-3

Pa-chi

"|Sai?|" Hikaru could copy the first two hands but attacking is when he always got lost.

"Hikaru, you're playing this game not me"

"|WHAT? SAI! I'm not nearly as good as you! Do you think he won't notice if I suddenly drop from amazing to complete amateur?|"

"Keep playing Hikaru" Sai smiled

Working hard to keep the emotions from reaching his face, Hikaru placed another stone at 6-17

Hikaru really was copying Sai's type of play. Sai couldn't wait until Hikaru couldn't just rely on moves he had seen before and had to actually think to find the right move

Pa-chi

"Hikaru strengthen your stones, they're spread pretty far apart"

"|ah, thanks|" Hikaru bit his lip as he tried to find the right place to place his stone.

Pa-chi, so he had chosen to play it at 11-17

Sai brightened the perfect place! Now he just had to wait and see if it was a fluke

Pa-chi

Hikaru paled, the examiner had chosen to attack as well

"Hikaru, confine his stone to one spot"

Pa-chi, Hikaru placed a stone at 17-8

Sai was beaming, just the right distance from the white stone, close enough to threaten, but not close enough to be threatened

Pa-chi

Hikaru looked at the board; this is where he usually got lost,

"Strengthen your bottom corner" Sai ordered, it seemed that Hikaru could focus on one part of the board in particular, but was lost when he saw the board as a whole

Pa-chi, 16-5, once again a good spot to play

Pa-chi

The game went on for a little more than an hour, at around the 103rd hand Sai had taken over for Hikaru

"Alright that's enough; I can see your strength. Please start coming to classes next week, you will be starting at the bottom of class two though I am sure that even if you didn't become insei you could pass the pro exam in one go"

Hikaru laughed sheepishly "Thank you"

"Just to satisfy my own curiosity, who taught you how to play go?"

"Ah, my grandfather at first, but Touya Akira was who got me interested, and a friend was kind enough to teach me more" Hikaru gestured vaguely, he hated it when people asked him that sort of question. Seriously how was he supposed to answer? A friend, who has lived for 3 lifetimes, is over 1000 years old, and no one can see him. People would think he was crazy

The examiner harrumphed "Go get your mother, I'll show you to the classroom"

_**~At the classroom/place where insei play go~**_

Hikaru followed his soon to be sensei to the classroom catching snippets of conversation along the way

"You lost to Fuku again Waya?" Called a disbelieving voice

"I can't help it! I'm weak against Fuku!"

"That makes it, what? 3 times this week?"

"You're weak against Touya too"

"Everyone's weak against Touya!"

The name Touya catching his attention, Hikaru made his way over to some kids who looked like they were discussing yet conversing at the same time

"Oh hey, did you pass the test?" A redhead called out

"Yah"

"Cool, I'm Waya, this is Fuku, this is Isumi, this is Honda, and that short slouchy kid over there is called Ochi" Waya introduced everyone

"Yoroshiku"

Waya laughed, "No need to be so formal, we're discussing this game, want to join in?"

"That'll have to wait, I'm going to show him around, he'll be joining you guys next week. Watch out he's quite strong" The examiner had finished showing his mother around the room and decided to warn the class one students of the monster Shindo Hikaru.

"Hai" Waya looked at Hikaru "see you next week then" and turned back to the game they weren't finished discussing yet

"You will be coming every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday for lessons. You will play 3 games a day, and you will record your wins and losses on this board" The examiner lead Hikaru around the room "You're free to leave after you're done playing all your games, unless you wish to discuss it. There will be other events other than just lessons like study groups and tournaments and the such. The top 3 people in class 1 will have a free pass through the preliminaries of the pro exam. Any other questions?"

"No, I don't think so" Hikaru was still processing the barrage of information he had just received.

"I look forward to seeing you next week then"

**_~At Home, In Hikaru's Room~_**

"Sai what did you think of everything?" Hikaru flopped onto his bed, they had finished dinner and his mother had never once stopped with the barrage of questions directed at him.

"It's amazing! Everyone there really loves playing go!" Sai was grinning happily

"Yah, it's amazing isn't it? They're totally unlike me" Hikaru sighed as he turned to look at Sai

"Hikaru, don't think like that! I know! How about we play a game right now?" Sai looked over at goban

"Ah, sure, fine, there's nothing better to do anyways" Hikaru got off the bed and plopped himself over at one side of the goban "I'll be black" He said as he uncovered the gokes and placed one on either side of the board

"Uh, Hikaru? I can't place stones by myself" Sai fretted as his hands went through the white goke time and time again

"This'll be a lot more trouble than it's worth, won't it?" Hikaru groaned "I'll place the stones for you"

Pa-chi, Hikaru played a hoshi

"3-4" Sai called happily

Pa-chi

"Uh, Hikaru, that's not 3-4 this is 3-4" Sai pointed to a completely different spot

"Ahhhh!" Hikaru griped in annoyance" Just point at it with your fan then!"

The game proceeded smoothly, that is unless you counted the fact that Hikaru was getting his ass completely kicked off the goban.

"AHHHHHHHHHHH YOU DON'T HOLD BACK DO YOU!" Hikaru screamed in frustration as he chucked a few stones at Sai, which, of course, had no effect.

"Ah, sorry. Hikaru? Don't be mad! I just got really excited. Come, let's play another game, please?" Sai tried to fend off Hikaru's violent antics in his usual way. Acting like a child and pleading for another game.

"No" Hikaru ground out "I'm going to sleep, you clean up"

"But Hikaru! HIKARUUUU?" Sai looked lost. He couldn't clean up, he was a ghost! "HIIIKKKKARRUUUU!" It was no use Hikaru was already fast asleep, or pretending to be fast asleep.

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><p>Yes it was really short. This is about half a chapter. You probably noticed I made Hikaru a tad bit too timid for my tastes, and there is hardly any Sai. The thing is I find it really hard to balance out the character parts, I just read over the manga and my story and I just noticed that Sai has almost absolutely disappeared from my story, next chapter I'm going to have a big long convo with Sai :D he is my favorite character! Also it's really hard to find the right personality to fit each person, I've changed Hikaru's at least 3 times already! So bear with it for now until I actually find a personality I can settle down with. I have had severe writer's block, but all the views and review I've been getting really helped! If it weren't for you I'd have probably given up by now, that's what happened to all the other stories I've written. Thanks for all your support :D say i've been wondering, should i change the title? the original plan was for hikaru to 'realize' that go was his life, but it has seriously veered off that course, so should i change the title to something that makes more sense? I have serious naming problems though, if you couldn't tell with my chapter names, suggestions welcome. i was thinking something along the lines of "Go-world overturned" yes i know that was really lame, but it's either that or "A lasting friendship" or should i just keep it "realization"<p>

otogii: Thank you sooooo much! You have no idea how your suggestions have worked their way into this story, it was so much help. I'm thinking a lot more when i write and thinking "too much dialogue or add a bit more?" I hope my writing has improved since the beginning of this story :D

gaul1: you actually like my endpoints? i've read over some of them and gone "seriously? I wrote this? I wonder why I'm not in a mental asylum yet... :)

Tahari: apparently word thinks that goban is not a word, sorry for the mistake :)

champylin:thank you! though hikaru being cool has probably changed after this chapter...sry :(

And for those of you who have no idea what go is or what Hikaru no Go is...

Kifu: a recording of a go game on paper

Insei: someone who studies go in order to become a pro. Must be 18 or younger.


	5. Chapter Four

Disclaimer: I do not own HnG nor do I make any money from writing this fanfic.

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><p>Hikaru practically skipped down the school corridors in glee. The first game was over and his team had won 4-1, it was amazing. Adrenaline still rushed through his veins at the mere thought of playing another game. Sai, unfortunately, was still shaking as he had just recovered from a ball passing through his chest as well as being trampled by multiple stampeding players.<p>

"|Oh come on, it was your own fault for following me on the field!|" Hikaru joked.

"Soccer is a violent sport Hikaru. You shouldn't play it! It's dangerous. What if you get hurt?" Sai fussed worriedly over his young companion. It seemed as if he didn't know the word fear. The black and white ball was lethal!

"Hikaru! Good job, that was an awesome shot!" One of his teammates clapped him on his back. The force of it sending him stumbling forward a few steps.

"Couldn't have scored without you!" Hikaru called to the retreating back. He glanced at the clock. "|Drat, It's almost five, I've got to get to those Insei classes!|"

"Yay, yay! GO!" Sai shouted out as he tried to bolt for the door.

Hikaru laughed as he followed the enthusiastic ghost out the door. He was anticipating the first insei class more than he thought he would. It wasn't like he was even playing the game, he was just an observer.

_Ding_

Hikaru stepped out of the elevator with Sai tailing not far behind. He took his shoes off and followed the trickling stream of people headed to the go classroom. Sai, of course, was skipping in glee at the thought of playing his most beloved game against people who were aiming to be what Torajiro once was, a go pro. He wanted to see how go had progressed in the hundred years that he spent resting, caged inside a go board.

"Ne, Hikaru, aren't you excited?" Sai sang out as he looked around the room prepared for the insei. Rows and rows of gobans were laid out, each had a timer and 2 cushions to sit on. The room was already quite full and most seats were already occupied.

"|Not really, I mean the game's interesting and all but I don't love it the same way you do. The only reason I'm here is because of you|" At least that's what Hikaru told Sai. Underneath that facade, there was a burning passion for the game, a passion so deep that it might rival Sai's. Hikaru just wasn't aware of that yet. His heart knew and so did his soul, but his mind was not yet in line with them yet. Time, that was all Hikaru needed, time.

Sai pouted "ah! everyone's coming in, we should look for where we sit"

"|right|" Hikaru turned to the board near the door "Nakizura" he mused out loud "|Ah! It's only last names, and I have no idea if it's a guy or a girl, there's no indication of the seating either! It just says 25!"

"Hey! You're that guy from Friday! I'm Waya," Waya grinned at Hikaru, "Hope we can play each other soon"

"ah..yes..of course, me too"

"Oh, you're playing Nakizura? Well have fun, she's over there by the way " Waya pointed to a seat by the window where a girl sat by herself "I gotta go, see you later" He grinned as he headed to the other side of the room. Hikaru, after a moments thought, went to his own seat.

"Hello, my name is Nakizura Kimiko, let's have a good game" The girl looked at him with amusement in her eyes. Obviously she thought she would defeat him with no issues whatsoever. After all he was the newcomer.

"Ah, yes, um, my name is Shindou Hikaru, pleased to meet you as well" Hikaru stuttered out

Nakizura grinned wider, this kid was obviously nervous; it would be an easy win. She only needed one more win to move onto rank 4 in class 2, it wouldn't be long before she advanced to class 1. Just like that Ochi kid.

"Alright may I please have everyone's attention" The sensei chose to walk in at that moment "I would like all of you to welcome a new student in our class. His name is Shindou Hikaru, please treat him well"

Everyone looked at him as if evaluating his strength. He was the jock, the one who fooled around all the time. He would be no threat to them. Satisfied they turned back to their own respective boards.

"That being said, please start your games"

"onegaishimasu"

"onegaishimasu"

_pa-chi_

Thirty minutes passed and Nakizura's sweat was enough to fill an olympic sized swimming pool. This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to lose. His playing style was old, she had though it would be an easy win. He didn't even know how to operate the timer for god's sake! When had it started to go wrong? Here, this move, she hadn't anticipated that. From then on she had been steadily losing territory. Almost all her groups were dead now. It was slaughter, if he was this good why did he even join the Insei, why didn't he just go ahead and become pro?

"I...Resign" Nakizura wiped at her sweat. Her hands were still shaking. He was a jock, this wasn't supposed to happen. The shock of losing weighed her down heavily and her hands were leaden as she dropped the stone she was still holding.

"Arigato Gozaimasu" Hikaru bowed as well and started clearing the board. He could still remember the game, there had been nothing extraordinary about it though. It didn't seem like he learned anything new, yet Sai was extremely satisfied. It just radiated off him. "|Why are you so happy?|"

"Relaxing games are fun" Sai was all grins as he trailed Hikaru to the scoring board

"|Uh huh, yet you _loved_ that game with Touya|" Hikaru marked his win

"There is a big difference between games that push you to become better and games to get to know your opponent better. That's one of the things that makes go so fun" Sai was still grinning. True, the game wasn't very stimulating but it was fun all the same. It was interesting to see the new ways that go had developed in the last hundred years or so. There were new ways of thinking, new strategies, new rules, and Sai had absorbed all of the ones presented to him.

"Oh you're done already? That was fast! Either you lost horribly or your opponent was too weak. I'm guessing the first, Nakizura isn't exactly an easy opponent." Waya teased. He was just about to leave as well, he lost to Fuku again and he needed to get rid of the stress.

"I won but Naikuzura-san does likes to attack doesn't she? " Hikaru answered.

Sai looked at Hikaru, he really was talented, not that Nakizura's attacks were at all subtle but seeing it after just weeks of playing go was impressive.

"Yup, though at times she doesn't know when to pull back. Lucky you though, first day here and you're already winning." Waya grinned, "Wanna go for a snack? We just gotta wait for Isumi to finish up."

"Sure!" Hikaru followed Waya to the hallway, "Say, what rank are you?"

"Me? Oh, I'm in class 1, rank 2."

"Wow, you must be really good," Hikaru grinned, Waya was a really nice person. He didn't really seem like the type of person to be playing such an introverted game either, Hikaru felt as if they would become really good friends.

"Hey, your done too Waya? Oh, you're that boy from before!" A tall, studious boy walked towards them.

"Ah, I'm Shindo Hikaru, pleased to meet you."

"Isumi this is Shindo, Shindo this is Isumi." Waya finished up the introductions "Now, food food, I don't know about you but I'm starving!"

Isumi laughed. "Alright, food it is then, you're coming too right?" He gestured at Hikaru.

"Yah," Hikaru smiled, at least he wouldn't be a total loner here.

The trio walked down to the vending machine on the main floor. They had finished early, meaning they had around twenty minutes to enjoy themselves. The main lobby was almost deserted by the time they stepped out. Most of the insei hadn't finished their games yet and Waya, Isumi, and Shindo were the only ones even near the snack machine, in Sai's words.

"What made you become Insei?" Isumi asked, while Waya was feeding the vending machine some coins.

"I have a friend who is really interested in go. Like obsessed with it. He taught me the game and I guess I was interested enough to come here." Hikaru answered. "|Except the friend happens to be a thousand year old ghost.|"

"Really? Is your friend an insei?" Waya asked curiously.

"Nah, he can't play go."

"What do you mean he can't play? Do his parents not let him?" Waya held up his drink that he had finally wrestled out of the vending machine triumphantly. He glanced over at Hikaru worriedly. "Because, you know, that's not good. I feel for him, my parents don't like the fact that I play go too."

"Yah...something like that," Hikaru stuttered out. It never crossed his mind that some people never aimed for their dreams simply because their parents wouldn't let them.

Isumi walked back to them. "It depends on how old he is I guess. This is my last few years as an insei, I'm nearly eighteen , so I'll have to pass the exam soon." He handed the bag of chips to Hikaru and opened his.

A flash of pity crossed Waya's eyes and disappeared just as quickly. "Alright that's enough. I'm depressed enough as it is. Can you believe I lost by one and a half moku to Fuku. I just can't beat him," He sighed jokingly.

"You've won against him once." Isumi teased him, "but then again you've played against him around ten times."

"I know," Waya shook his head, "On a brighter note, I'm playing against Ochi next. I'll send him to the bathroom!" He exclaimed.

"The bathroom?" Hikaru asked disbelievingly.

"Ochi has this really bad habit you see." Isumi explained, carefully concealing his laughter, "whenever he loses, he locks himself in a bathroom stall."

"People say they can hear him tap on the door while muttering. It's rumored he curses people." Waya laughed.

"It's more likely he's just reviewing the game." Isumi said.

Hikaru smiled, this really was an amusing class. He didn't know who Ochi was but he sounded like an amusing person. "We should get back to the classroom. It's nearly six."

"|Yay, another game.|" Sai exclaimed excitedly.

"Ah I'm beat" Hikaru stretched in the hallway. He hated sitting in seiza, his knees were sore and his legs were killing him. The second game ended quickly as well, this time Sai wasn't so brutal in the destruction of the opponent. The end was still sad though, the poor boy was probably still in shock.

"|Why can't you go easier on them? The guy you just beat right now looked like he had just seen hell!|"

"In go, it is an insult to go easy on someone. It is considered as undermining their skills, like you're looking down on them" Sai seemed satisfied, he was pleased with the fact they would get to do this 2 times a week and at times, during Saturday as well.

"|Still...you don't have to completely destroy them like that!|"

"True, perhaps I could tone it down a bit," Sai considered it.

"I'm telling you netgo is the best! You won't regret getting an account! I'll set everything up for you." Waya animatedly spoke to a boy Hikaru didn't recognize. "Sometimes even pro's go on there. I'm pretty sure that I played against Ogata-sensei once! Oh-hey Hikaru."

"Web go?" Hikaru asked curiously.

Waya brightened up. There was someone else who was interested! "Netgo! There's a website on the internet where you can set up an account. You choose a screen name and then you can play against people from all around the world who have an account on that website. There are some really strong players on there!"

"Ne, ne, Hikaru! What is an internet? And a website?" Sai asked excitedly. To play against people from all around the world. Would they be traveling to Japan to play against them. It seemed unlikely. Maybe it was a huge international tournament.

"Don't you need a computer for that? Computer's are expensive!" Hikaru decided to leave the lengthy explanation of internet for later. He didn't even fully understand the intricate details of the internet.

"Nah, they have internet cafes. You pay around 500 yen for an hour." Waya shot over his shoulder as he tried to catch up to the other boy. "You should try it!"

"Hikaru! What is this tournament! How do we participate?" Sai shouted petulantly, tired of being ignored.

"|I'll tell you later. It's not a tournament, it's...something different.|" Hikaru resigned himself to another sleepless night. There was no doubt in his mind that it would take forever to explain the concept of internet to Sai.

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><p>Yah, it was horrible. I have writers block. It sucks. I promise the next chapter will be better. I sincerely apologize for not updating for so long. Grade eleven IB was horrible for me. I was so stressed out I just totally forgot about this story. When I came back to it I realized that I had writers block. Sincerely apologize. Don't hate me for this horrible chapter. Really please don't. D: I don't know if I will have regular updates on this story. But I most definitely will not abandon it.<p>

I've gone back to the short chapter format simply because it's easier for me to write. I apologize if that ticks anyone off.

nobodyinparticular: Thank you! I never realized that, since I watch it with Chinese subs I translated it into web go...oops *rubs head sheepishly* sorry. I fixed it now and yes I just realized it was a bit cheap. Now it's 500 yen.


	6. Chapter Five

**IMPORTANT! READ!: I've changed Hikaru's thoughts to italics. Thought it would be simpler.**

**Disclaimer: I'm not writing another one. I have five up already. If someone reports me I'll stalk you and then... *evil eyes as I pull out a bloody knife* ;) just a warning **

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><p>It was already dark outside, though it was only 6 pm, the days had only begun getting longer. With the curtains drawn and his mother out of the house it was silent. Very silent. Or at least that was what it would seem like to an outsider. Instead, Hikaru was holding off a headache from the never-ending explanation of internet. His homework had been done ages ago, piled up on his rather messy desk. Now though, he wished he had more homework. Or an "internet for dummies" book. Seriously! He wasn't a walking encyclopedia, how was he supposed to know how the internet was transmitted to another country?<p>

"Hikaru! How can they play against us when their all the way around the world! Is the box magical? Like that magical vending machine?" Sai whined, practically hanging off of Hikaru's arm.

_I don't know! It gives off signals that connect to America or some other place. And then they send signals back. Or something like that. _Yup, that was a migraine all right. Now if only Sai would be quiet! A game would be better than this continuous torture!

"But wouldn't that be extremely slow? How can it travel that fast?"

_Magic! I don't know! _Hikaru mentally screamed at the annoying ghost.

"Magic!" Sai shouted happily. "Magic exists!"

Hikaru only shook his head. He supposed it was sort of like magic, just not...magic, magic. Screw it, that didn't even make any sense in his mind. He sighed, he swore that being close to Sai would lead to permanent brain damage.

"So...Hikaru...can we play now?" Sai looked at him pleadingly, "I want to play you!"

_Sai, you know I absolutely fail at go! Why do you even **want **to play me? _

"I'll teach you! I swear I won't destroy you like last time!" Sai pleaded. His eyes shining with unshed tears.

_...fine..._ Hikaru finally gave in to the pressure. _But I doubt I'll be any good. _

"That's fine!"

Hikaru sighed, it seemed as if Sai was set on teaching him the fundamentals of this game. It was a waste of time even trying to teach him the game, as far as he knew, go was an intellectual game. And no matter how hard he thought, he couldn't think of a single time he excelled in academics. This would just be a fruitless occupation on Sai's part. But then again, it could just be Sai's obsessment with go.

pa-chi

pa-chi

pa-chi

The two exchanged hands, and Sai once again wondered at how interesting Hikaru's go was. It was no doubt very sloppy, at the first glance you could tell that he was a beginner. However, to Sai's trained eye, he could see the intention behind each stone. For example, right there, Hikaru was trying to cut him off. But, Hikaru tended to focus on one part of the board and not pay attention to the rest of the board. Sure, if there was only that formation there it would have been a very effective move. Be that as it may, the rest of the board put that stone off kilter. If it had been placed two spaces down, then it would have been effective, right now though, it was very vulnerable to being captured. however instead of taking it , Sai pointed to a space that would hopefully allow Hikaru to see his mistake.

Hikaru looked at the placement Sai chose quizzically, if the ghost had wanted to, he could have killed his stone right there. But he hadn't, instead he had given Hikaru an opportunity to connect that stone to his live group. Slowly Hikaru took that chance, what it there was another intention behind Sai's stone? What if this were a trap? To his ultimate surprise, Sai smiled before turning his attention to a completely different part of the board.

Pa-chi

Hikaru decided to push aside his confusion over that particular move of Sai's and observe the horrible condition his bottom group was in. One stone had seemingly cut off all escape routes for the group. Only one stone. Hikaru knew he wasn't the best go player, but this was insane! Sighing he regarded his situation again, it looked hopeless for him. With his skill level, even if he managed to allow his group to survive, Sai would have already killed his top group. Unless...there! There! If he placed his stone there, it would allow him to link to his top group! But then...yes Sai would go here and then he would place his stone there!

It could work! With newfound determination Hikaru placed his stone and prayed that Sai would follow the path he set.

pa-chi

Sai smiled delightedly, he found it! He had found the way to live, finally, Hikaru was taking his attention off one section of the board and paying attention to the board as a whole. Nearly laughing in his joy, Sai pointed to a spot that would allow pressure Hikaru but wouldn't cut Hikaru off completely.

pa-chi

Frowning Hikaru surveyed the stone Sai had placed. That was weird, normally Sai would completely cut him off there, but Sai didn't do that. Instead he chose to play at a place that would allow Hikaru to advance. But if he had played at the 19-8 point, it would have cut off Hikaru completely. The weird strategy Sai was employing threw Hikaru's ingenius plan down the drain. However, it did offer him an easy path to live. Deciding to take the chance, Hikaru placed his stone.

pa-chi

Sai smiled, now Hikaru would live. He had been concerned for a second when Hikaru frowned at his stone. Nontheless, Hikaru had spotted the path to victory. The ghost decided to stop his little tests for now and continue with the game.

pa-chi

Hikaru thoughtfully regarded the board, that stone didn't really threaten anything just yet, but in six hands it might cause some damage. Should he ignore it and secure his left corner? His hand disappeared into the bowl picking out a white stone. Then he hesitated, maybe Sai was aiming for his top group? Slowly he played the sequence over in his brain. Yes, that was probably what Sai was aiming for, if that came around his group would be dead.

Pa-chi

Seventy hands later Hikaru looked at the board with exasperation. Sure it was closer than last time, but a difference of fifteen moku was still a bit much. "I resign."

"That was good! You're really good Hikaru!" Sai exclaimed excitedly. "That was amazing!"

"Good! That was horrid! Here-" Hikaru replayed the game to the 45th hand, "I didn't see that coming at all! I thought you would play here! I had a whole scenario played out in my head, and then, BAM, it goes down the drain. God, I suck."

Startled Sai burst out laughing. Without even knowing, Hikaru had already started discussing the game. Not about to ruin the good mood, Sai good heartedly put in his input. "Nevertheless it was a good hand. 14-5 would have been a better hand, it simultaneously defends here and attacks here."

"That's right, but if you played here instead..."

When Mitsuko came home at 9pm she found Hikaru sitting in front of his goban talking to himself.

"Bedtime Hikaru. Did you finish your homework?" Mitsuko leaned against her son's bedroom door.

"Huh? Uh yah, I think so." Hikaru rubbed his neck sheepishly. "I'll go do it right now." Quickly he cleaned off the go board and sat down at his desk.

"Try to finish before ten okay?"

"Yah, sure." Hikaru waited until the door was closed before he leaned back in his chair.

"Ahh~, I don't want to do this."

Peeking Sai looked over Hikaru's shoulder. "Hikaru? What's the cross thing mean?"

_It's math. I'm not explaining it so don't ask. I hardly get it myself. _Hikaru stared at the algebra questions in front of him and instantly felt his brain shut down. He just wasn't cut out for all this smart stuff. It wasn't him! Thank god there was a practice tomorrow, he could probably copy off a classmate then. Sighing he wrote down the answers for the four questions he figured out and scribbled randomly in the other blanks.

Curiously Sai stared at the piece of paper for a while longer trying to figure out this math thing. It looked fun, there were a bunch of numbers and a lot of lines.

_Sai? I'm going to sleep first, I'll leave on the lamp so you can stare at my homework for a bit longer. _

"Night, Hikaru." Sai chirped happily.

The next day happened to be cloudy. Hikaru had waken up early for soccer practice and Sai had been dragged along despite his hate of the sport. The soccer players were all scrimmaging on the field, _more like trying to kill each other _Sai thought. Before practice had started Hikaru had pulled a tall lanky guy off the field and asked him some questions. The math homework that Hikaru had just completed lay open on the bench beside Sai.

"All right everybody! Do some dribbling exercises and run two laps of the field. Then you can go change." Yelled the big man with the mustache.

"Yes coach!"

Two laps and a few cups of sweat later, the coach finally let the boys go shower.

"He's so strict, we're going to be late for classes now," a guy with the number 6 on his back said.

"I know! We're always late when we have morning practices. I always blame the coach." Laughed number 12

Hikaru smiled with them, absentmindedly rubbing his hair dry. He had completed his math homework thank god, but he owed Hirojima a lot of favors now. This was the fifth time this month that Hirojima had helped him out, and in Japan favors were always returned.

"Ne! Hirojima!" Hikaru called out to the tall lanky guy just about to exit the change room. _Whew! Thank god I caught him. Nearly missed him again. _

_"_'Nani? I have classes and I'm already late. Sensei is going to kill me." Hirojima looked nervously at the clock. Three minutes late, and for history too. The teacher would throw a fit.

"Sorry mate," Hikaru laughed. "Just wanted to tell you that if you ever needed help with anything to ask me. I'll try and see what I can do."

Hirojima looked startled for a second, then quickly recovered. "Well there is something that's been bothering me for a while..."

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><p>Alright, hopefully this was better than the last chapter. I know it was mainly just a game but many of you asked where Hikaru's strength was. He's pretty much at insei level. I know that's moving a bit fast but he is a genius in this fanfic :D also he has huge gaping holes in his knowledge. While his perception of the game is amazing, he still stumbles when placing his own stones. So he can read his opponent pretty well, perhaps going around 8 hands ahead, but when he places his own stone he is overwhelmed at the possibilities, and tends to only focus on one part of the board. That is his weakness. He's going to get much much better though, with Sai as a tutor who wouldn't?<p>

Either way, hoped you guys enjoyed this chapter. As I said before I'm not going to be making regular updates on this fanfic, but it is not abandoned or on haitus. You might get two chapters in a row, and then you might go a few weeks without a chapter. Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed! You really helped me along a lot, it's nice to know my writing isn't complete crap and that there are still people interested in this story.

That being said, I got into McGill, anyone going there? Hopefully in the architectural department?

Nani: What

Sensei: Teacher

READ AND REVIEW :D Thanks :DDDDDDD


	7. Chapter Six

Bring~

"Actually, never mind, it really wasn't that important anyways." Hirojima flushed at Hikaru's inquisitive stare. 'I'll see you at the next practice!"

Hikaru stood not knowing quite what to do when the late bell finally registered with his mind. _Ah, drat. I have language first; sensei's going to kill me!_ He then proceeded to book it to his classroom, making it 5 seconds before the teacher started taking attendance.

"Nice to see you've finally deemed us with your presence." The sentence was spoken sarcastically; the class was already used to Hikaru's frequent lateness. Most attributed it to soccer practice, but the ones who really knew Hikaru understood that it was just Hikaru's nature to be late.

"The coach was being cruel again." Hikaru said rather jokingly as he took his seat near the back of the classroom. He avoided Akari's rather accusing glare as he settled in, taking out his workbooks.

As the class resumed, Hikaru couldn't help but wonder why Hirojima had seemed so flustered after practice that day. Despite racking his brain for ay significant events that could have happened so far, Hikaru came up empty. There was simply nothing that had stood out over the last few weeks, except go. However, no one knew about his new pastime and he didn't plan on letting it become public. Despite the intrigue Hikaru felt while watching the game, he wasn't quite ready to let the world know.

"Hikaru, can I play you today? We didn't get to finish a game yet!" Sai said with a pout.

_That's because you never take it easy on me! I've never played the game before, yet you keep playing me like I'm Touya!_

"But, you're really good at the game and I kind of got carried away. I promise it won't happen today! I'll actually teach." Sai said. In a way, it was true. Hikaru had so much potential and Sai would bring it out if it were the last thing he did.

_If I finish my homework on time, I'll play with you. But just one game!_ Hikaru reasoned back. Negotiation was frequently initiated on the subject of go. Usually, it was Sai who ended up winning the better end though. Sometimes the ghost's personality was just impossible to beat.

"Hey! Hikaru! Where were you yesterday? I went over to see if you wanted to hang out, but you weren't there." Akari asked. Usually, the only time Hikaru wasn't at home was when he was at soccer practice.

"Oh, sorry, I had something else to attend to. I probably can't hang out after school as much as I used to." Hikaru said. It wasn't that he didn't want to hang out with Akari, it was just that sooner or later he would end up getting dragged into what he deemed "girlish activities."

"Oh. That…sucks." Akari looked rather disappointed, Hikaru wasn't really sure why. After all, they saw each other at school every day and all she would be missing out on would be another dress up doll.

"Yeah. Sorry." Hikaru turned back to his work, not sure what else to say to the crest-fallen girl.

Akari didn't have a response either. The silence was rather awkward as the two childhood friends refrained from looking at each other, choosing instead to carefully examine the worksheet put before them.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS

"Hikaru. Hikaru. Hikaru!" Sai loomed over the oblivious sleeping child looking like a mother hen.

"Hmmm. What. Who? Sai!" Hikaru gasped as he sat bolt upright staring at his surroundings uncomprehendingly, not noticing the disapproving glares shot in his direction.

"You overslept." Sai responded strictly. "Your stop was 2 stations ago."

"Ack. Drat. Really?" Still shaking the sleep out of his eyes, Hikaru looked at the display which would show him which station came next. To his dismay, Sai was proven right. His stop really was two stations ago. He could go on a round trip, but that would take much too long. He could also get off on this stop and change routes to go two stations back, but it was rush hour. The subway would be completely overcrowded. There was always bussing…

"Hikaru." Sai poked him

"Yeah?"

"You're talking out loud again. The woman next to you thinks you're insane." Now that Hikaru looked at his neighbor she did look rather…uncomfortable. And he supposed he had totally forgotten that no one else could see Sai, thus every time he was talking to him, it seemed as if he was talking to himself. Well. This was awkward.

_Right. We'll take the bus home then. I think the next one comes in ten minutes. I'll call home and tell mother that I might be a bit late. _Hikaru said as he exited the train, sighing in relief once the woman's eyes stopped glaring disturbingly into his back.

As soon as he managed to push his way through the crowd of people populating the subway station, Hikaru searched for a telephone booth. He probably had enough spare change for a fifteen minute call.

"Hello?"

"Hey. Mom? This is Hikaru."

"Oh, thank god you called. I have to leave for a bit and I might not be home until really late. I have dinner in the fridge if you get hungry."

'Oh." _Jackpot. Freedom. _Hikaru jumped in joy on the inside. "Um. I'm with a friend and we missed the stop. Could I hang out with him a little bit longer? We can find a cheap place to eat and I swear I'll be home before curfew."

"As long as your friends parents are okay with it, it's fine. I'll pay you back for dinner some other time. Have fun and stay safe okay?" She sounded rushed. Something must have sprung up at work. Either that or his dad had decided to make a miraculous reappearance into their everyday lives.

"Love you. Bye." Hikaru hung up the phone. _Alright! Let's find an arcade and have some fun!"_ He was already looking around with searching eyes, looking for that neon sign that would mark his treasure.

"Um. Hikaru. Eto. Ah." Sai looked positively heart-broken.

_What? Wait-wait-no-no-don't cr-no-don't cry. Just. Just talk to me. _The bleached child looked slightly panicked as he tried to soothe a man who had lived longer than his whole school combined.

"There was a go salon. And since we have free time…" Sai pouted.

Hikaru took one longing look at the surely soon to appear arcade sign and then glanced at the ratty sign proclaiming the "Heart of Stone Go Salon." The choice was painfully obvious in his eyes, but then he made the grave mistake of taking Sai's opinion into consideration. Hikaru sighed. Go Salon it was.

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><p>WRITER'S BLOCK. WRITER'S BLOCK. WRITER'S BLOCK.<p>

Please don't hate me. It's not edited. It's not good. It sucks. It's short. I wrote this in the airport waiting for my flight, I just wanted to get a chapter out for Christmas. Now. I apologize. SOOOOO MUCH. I kept meaning to update this story and it just kept slipping my mind. I apologize to everyone reading this. I can't make any promises on the speed of my updates, but I shall update. I'll also redo this chapter once I run it through my beta.

Thank you to everyone who continued to follow, favorite and/or review this story. I might have dropped it if not for the magnitude of the emails I received from Fanfiction. So as a Christmas gift, Read and Review. Thanks :D


	8. Chapter Seven

**Disclaimer: **I do not own Hikaru no go and I make no money from this fanfiction.

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><p>The bell dinged as Hikaru walked through the door. The smoky smell of the interior was the first thing that flooded his senses as he looked around the shop. It didn't seem as if anyone had noticed his entry, most were too busy in game, others conversing with each other. It was obvious that everyone in this club knew each other pretty well. Self consciously Hikaru cleared his throat, hoping to catch someone's attention.<p>

"Eh?" A woman looked towards the door. "You lost kid?"

"No. I was hoping to be able to play here." Hikaru answered with a little trepidation. She looked very intimidating. That glare of hers could cut through to very soul of a person. The thought was probably his hyperactive nerves acting up on him though.

"You play go?" The lady raked her eyes over Hikaru, taking in his short stature, muscled legs, and bleached bangs. "You've got to be kidding."

"Yeah, so, how much is the entry fee?" Hikaru glanced over at the entrance where the fees were usually listed only to find that there was no sign.

"You seriously want to play? Here?" She continued as if Hikaru had never spoken. "You any good?"

"Better than all of you. How much is the entry fee?" Hikaru couldn't help his snide remark. Besides, why was it that everyone didn't believe him whenever he said he played go? Just because he had bleached bangs and looked sort of like a jock, didn't mean that he wanted to go through this every time he entered a go salon. Which was often, due to the insistent ghost that wouldn't leave him alone.

The lady smirked at some of the patrons who had paused their game in favour of the drama happening in the front entrance. "How about we make this more interesting?" She asked. "If you can beat out best patron, Kawai there, I'll let you play for free. If you lose, you pay double."

"You're on." Hikaru grinned. _Sai, I swear, if you lose this…_

"I won't Hikaru! I swear!" Sai responded happily.

"Great! I like boys with spirit! Just don't get your hopes too high kid, and you better have 1000 yen at the ready." A middle aged man stood up from his observational post at the half done game. He pulled up two chairs at a deserted table. "I'm Kawai, by the way. Let's have a good game."

Hikaru sat down in the proffered seat. "Likewise. So. How much handicap do you want?" He said with a smirk on his face.

Kawai looked offended. "You're pretty cocky kid. Just hope you can back it up. I don't need a handicap, but something tells me you do."

_We're black Sai. Your move._

"3-4"

Clack

Clack

Clack

Kawai smirked. It had been a long time since a new patron entered this go salon, let lone someone so young and full of life. If the kid decided to stick around it would be nice to see how much he could grow. This was also the first time in a while that he was playing a game without a handicap against him.

_Sai...Is h__e good? I really haven't seen any…really, like, extremely good moves from him. He plays kinda like my granddad._

Sai looked at Shindou. He really was learning the game extremely fast. "He's about par with your granddad. A little better perhaps."

Kawai started sweating. No matter where he played, there would be a perfectly placed stone just laughing in his face. Territory just seemed to be slipping through his fingers and he couldn't do anything to stop it. They hadn't even reached yose. Scratch that, they weren't even close to reaching yose. "I…lose." He bowed his head. He knew when he was outmatched and didn't want to see the brutal end this would turn out to be.

"Thank you for the game." Hikaru bowed in respect.

Kawai returned the gesture. Not wanting to dwell on that rather embarrassing loss, he decided to make casual conversation. Noticing that Hikaru was about to make his exit Kawai stopped him with an armlock. "Hey kid. How did you get so good? You pro or something?" He laughed.

Hikaru flinched when he felt a burly arm crawl across his neck as he stood to leave. When the arm tightened and a boisterous voice boomed out to ask whether or not he played professionally, he had a hard time linking this person with the one he had just defeated. Weren't adults supposed to act more mature and...detached from all things unprofessional?

"Not really. I'm an insei though."

"Insei huh? You might give Touya-san a run for his money. Junior of course. You want to play another game? I'll take a three stone handicap this time."

Shindou stared at the man incredulously. "Um, sure. How about a five stone handicap instead though?" He wasn't sure if he wanted to face the mans reaction if he suggested nine stones. Actually, he wasn't quite sure how he would react. Somehow, that only made him more frightened.

"You really think that little of me huh? Four. Let's start." Kawai smirked as he looked at the boy fondly. Honestly, he wasn't sure if four stones would be enough. It was his first time being crushed that badly by an opponent.

Hikaru kept glancing at the man nervously as he placed the four black stones on the board. This was the first time he met an adult that acted like a…giant kid. He had always imagined adults as this mature creature that existed solely to put limits and rules on every activity that kids found fun.

"Dammit kid. How did you get so good? Did you start this game in the womb or something?" Kawai stared at the board in disbelief, once again, the kid had completely dominated the board. Three of his most major groups were just about dead, and his living stones had no chance at contesting white's claim on the center.

"Or something." Hikaru grinned.

"Again! 9 stones. Let's do this!" Kawaii exclaimed. Not that he would ever admit it, but a 9 stone handicap really hurt his pride. Especially since Shindou didn't look a day over 14. "So. How old are you?" He asked as he placed his 9 stones.

"12." Shindo answered.

Dear god. That was young. The age gap just made him feel worse about losing so horribly against him.

"How long have you been playing?" Kawai asked. _Please tell me he's been playing since he was two. Please. _He kept his fingers crossed.

"Um...A few months...but...it's complicated." Hikaru bit his lip. That was a horrible answer. Talk about ambiguous.

Kawai grunted, only a few months was stretching it. Actually, for the level of play Shindou had shown, a few years was stretching it. Well, kids always had their secrets, may as well let this one keep his. Maybe he was embarrassed by the amount of time he had dedicated to the game. "Keep your secrets then. Someday you'll spill." He grinned.

Hikaru released the breath that he had been holding unconsciously. "We'll see."

Sai stared at the board curiously, paying no attention to the conversation between Hikaru and Kawai. With Kawai's skill level, pulling a win out of his nine stone handicap would be hard. Even for him. He would have to look 35, no maybe 40 moves ahead of his opponent if he wanted to end it before yose. Otherwise, pulling a 2 or 3 moku win shouldn't be that hard. He was excited.

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><p>"I give up. I still don't see how you managed to end that before yose. I had a nine stone handicap! I fear for your opponents when you go for your pro exam." Kawaii stared at the board in disbelief. For the early half of the game, he had actually thought he had a chance at winning. Then mid game came and he lost two groups near the middle and Shindou just kept pushing and pushing at what he thought was secured territory. Then this horrible trap cost him his upper right territory and then another cost half of his lower one. When he looked at the board again, Shindou was leading by over ten moku.<p>

Hikaru grinned. "Thanks for the game. It was really fun!" _I can't believe you won that. I mean, I knew you were good, but the board was all black for a really long time. _

"It was harder than I expected, but doable. We should do this more!" Sai said giddily as he danced around the room. "I haven't had that much fun since I played against Akira!"

"How about another one? Shido-go this time." Kawai started setting up the board. "I want 7 stones."

Hikaru glanced at the time. "I would love to…but I really have to get home. My mum will get worried if I stay out too late." He started with a shock as his glance moved to the store manager slowly. "I don't have to pay right?"

"No. You won against Kawai." She replied grinning. She hadn't seen the salon that animated in a while. The kid might be good for business.

Hikaru let out a relieved sigh as he made his way towards the door.

"Oh. Shindou-san right?" The manager asked as soon as Hikaru had one step through the door. "You should come around more often."

"Yeah, sure." Hikaru smiled

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><p>"Mum I'm home!" Hikaru called out as he toed open the front entrance to his house. When no response was imminent he gathered that his mom had yet to come home. Not wanting to even look at the homework that had been assigned, he decided to start immediately on his nightly ritual, "Sai! Let's play a game!"<p>

"Sai didn't respond vocally, choosing instead to throw his arms around Hikaru and drag him up the stairs.

"Can we actually play at least one game of shidougo today?" Hikaru asked exasperatedly as he sat down in front of his goban, "I don't think I learn much when you force a resignation 75 hands into the game."

Sai laughed rather sheepishly. "I'm sorry, its just, I get carried away when I play with you."

"Still. No need to go all out. And I want a handicap." Hikaru grinned, setting the board up and gathering up his self esteem. He would need it for the ass-whooping that was about to occur.

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><p>"Hey, Sai?" Hikaru asked timidly as he laid on his bed, his mother having come home and forced him to sleep.<p>

"Yeah?"

"Do you really think I'm good at this game? Honest opinion please." Hikaru looked over at where Sai was currently located on the floor.

Sai looked at him thoughtfully for a bit while he tried to come up with a way to best explain Hikaru's talent to him. "I do. You have an amazing insight for this game. As long as you keep playing and improving, I'm sure that you could be a challenger for a title someday. Maybe you could search for the hand of god yourself."

"You think? So if I keep playing you like I am, I could become pro someday as well?" Hikaru's voice became more animated. His marks weren't that great and neither his parents nor his teachers thought he was going anywhere academically. Soccer was something he enjoyed, but he didn't think he was good enough to make a career out of it.

"You lack experience. You have the right ideas when you're playing, you just don't have the experience to back it up."

"But I play you nearly every night! And you're amazing at this game." He rolled over pouting petulantly at Sai.

"But I'm just one person with one play style. You need to encounter other play styles as well, with people that are below and above your skill level." Sai said.

Hikaru hummed thoughtfully as he considered Sai's words. Encountering other peoples play styles would be harder than he expected. He couldn't just play with his own skill level, people would begin to notice the sharp decrease from Sai's skill. "Maybe I will invest in a costume so that no one can recognize me when I play." Hikaru laughed.

Sai only smiled sadly. Knowing that Hikaru wanted to play more and recognizing the fact that is was himself that was stopping him made him feel much like a parasite. And it wasn't a feeling that Sai was comfortable with.

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><p><strong>AN: **So...I'm back? Thanks to everyone that stuck around long enough for me to publish a new chapter. I know I haven't updated since Christmas and I'm really, really, really sorry. I've had a lot of issues to deal with and travel makes things harder. To everyone that reviewed, pm'ed, and favourited or followed, thank you from the bottom of my heart.

As always, please read and review, I'm always open to feedback and constructive criticism.


	9. Chapter Eight

**Disclaimer: **Hikaru no go is not mine, I make no money from this_ fan_fiction

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><p>"Who are you playing today?"<p>

"Shindou, that new insei that came in a couple of weeks ago."

"Dude, tough luck. I hear he's almost made it into the first class, hasn't lost a single game since he joined."

"You serious? I haven't really been paying attention to that stuff."

"Yeah, there's also rumours that he actually beat sensei when he came in for the entrance test. Also, I heard Isumi-san mention that he and Touya-san were rivals."

Tetsuro looked at his friend nervously. "Way to make me feel confident."

"Sorry." He laughed. "But really, good luck." He waved cheerfully at his pale friend before ditching him at the entrance.

The elevator door slid open revealing the blond boy that had caused the chaos that ran rampant in the insei classroom. He walked calmly to the shoe rack, oblivious to the stares of his fellow classmates. The whispers and rumours floated past him, unheard, as he whistled a song he had heard on his way to the go institute.

_"So, as I said, all I have to do is get my hands on a computer then I can play whoever I want. And, no one will ever know that it was me."_ Hikaru smiled, it really was ingenious. Waya had mentioned netgo a while ago and Shindou believed it offered the perfect solution.

Sai hummed in agreement. He had long since accepted that the modern technologies were way beyond his understanding. No matter how much Hikaru insisted that it wasn't magic, Sai was inclined to believe that it was. Especially the things that allowed men to fly to the moon and Hikaru to play go with people in America.

"Hey!" A rambunctious voice called out. "Hikaru!"

Hikaru and Waya had formed a somewhat close friendship within the last few weeks. At first Waya had been sceptical of Shindou's skill having never played him himself, however after he had remained undefeated after 10 matches, not to mention the ridiculous rumours that had sprung up, he was of a mind to change his opinion. Now with his friends close initiation into the first class, he was looking forward to testing his skill himself. Hikaru tended to make people underestimate him, his looks weren't of the more studious type, like Ochi or Isumi. Rather, he had bleached bangs and was apparently a member of his school's soccer team. His ignorance of the go world was yet another characteristic that made others misjudge him. Not once had Hikaru ever recognized any go events that Waya brought up. Even the titles were unknown to him. Once Hikaru had asked him why there was a tournament named after Touya's father. Considering all of this, Waya wondered exactly how good Shindou was at this game. The speed at which he managed to finish all of his games hinted at immense strength, but to get that good required a good amount of exposure to the go world, which Hikaru was evidently lacking.

"Hey Waya."

"Hikaru, man. You better win this game. Isumi and I are rooting for you. We've got the whole party planned out and everything," Waya stated excitedly. "We're all looking forward to playing you. Got to see how good you are myself."

"Party? For what?" Hikaru looked at his friend.

"Don't you know?"

Hikaru gave him a "would I be asking if I did' glare which caused Waya to smile sheepishly, of course Hikaru didn't know. He was painfully oblivious to the most obvious things. Hikaru was just special that way. Really, really special.

"Right. You really should keep up with these things. If you win this game, which I'm sure you will. You're going to be promoted to first class." Waya beamed at him. "Which means, you and I are going to have a game soon."

Hikaru smiled. "That's great." _Stronger opponents for you Sai. Maybe the games will last longer now._

Sai simply smiled blissfully at the thought of playing more go.

"So, obviously, you're going to kick Tetsuro's butt and then we'll go have some ramen to celebrate your promotion. It's going to be awesome. At this rate, you might even get to go to the Young Lions tournament with us. That is if you keep up your win rate." The redhead continued his chatter about how awesome it would be to have Hikaru in the same class as him when he was cut off rather abruptly by the blank look on his friends face.

"What's that?" Hikaru asked.

Waya very nearly did a facepalm. Of course Hikaru didn't know what it was. Of course. "It's…" He glanced at the time, wincing when he saw how close they were cutting it to the start bell. "I'll tell you about it later. Good luck on your game." Waya waved as he rushed to over to where his opponent was waiting for him.

"Thanks. You too." Hikaru nodded at him making his way to the board where his own opponent was seated, where he would, as Waya aptly put it "kick his butt."

Tetsuro looked at the grinning blonde making his way over to his board. So this was Shindou, the supposedly unbeatable insei. He certainly didn't look that frightening, nothing like Touya who carried a serene aura like second nature. He actually looked somewhat displaced.

Tetsuro had glanced at his game record before beginning the game though, so he knew that the winning streak his opponent was on, wasn't a rumour. Ever since he started the insei class, there was not a single game he had lost. There was also not a single game in which he had not forced a resignation. That was scary. It was terrifying. According to his friends who had already had the pleasure of playing him, it was like trying to climb up a cliff. No footholds to grab and no leverage to be found. Shindou was utterly ruthless in his game.

Clack

Clack

He very much felt like crying right then. That was his largest group and the only foothold he had found trying to climb the cliff that was Hikaru Shindou. He tasted something salty. Dear god, he wasn't actually crying was he. How pathetic. Tetsuro placed another stone lethargically. He had played a perfect game. No mistakes that he could have seen. The skill gap was just too high, too large. He hadn't made any stupid mess ups that could have cost him the game. This game reminded him of the one game he had played against sensei, except this time, without the five stone handicap.

Hikaru stared at the board, knowing that this was his victory. There was no way for his opponent to reclaim the influence he had lost with that last move. The center was his now and there was no way for the other boy to contest his claim. _Hey Sai! I did good right? I mean, I didn't need as much advice from you this time, and I saw that last move all by myself. _

"Of course, you're improving really fast. I'm pretty sure that you could have beat him even without my advice. How about you play the next game without it?"

_No way Sai! I still need you. If you don't help me, it'll end up going into yose and people will notice. Waya's already drooling over the prospect to play you. You Sai, not me. _

"I lose." Tetsuro bowed his head, his bangs hiding his tears. "Thank you for the game."

Hikaru grinned as he made his way over to where he usually waited for Waya and Isumi to finish. He had just been congratulated by the sensei for making it into the first class and Sai was excited at the prospect of facing tougher opponents. Hikaru had an inkling that Sai was actually hoping that someone in the first class had the skill level of the Touya guy. Which according to Waya's opinions of Akira, wouldn't be happening any time soon.

"Shindou-san?" A firm voice called out from behind him.

His blood ran cold. He recognized that voice, it couldn't be. No way. Speak of the devil and the devil shall appear. Damn it. Thinking fast, he cleared his throat, making his voice deeper than it usually was. "I'm…erm...Ikki. Just a passerby. You have never met we, we have never talked, and we have most definitely never played a game." He nervously tucked down his face and walked a wide circle around Touya, keeping his blonde bangs out of sight.

"Shindou. Wait." Touya called out after him.

"I'm Ikki." Shindou nearly growled as his steps became faster.

Akira finally lost his patience, shooting out a hand to physically stop Hikaru from getting on the elevator. "Shindou-san. I knew it was you!"

Hikaru looked at the restraining arm in shock. He was most definitely not expecting that, especially from Touya. "Erm. No it's not me. I'm…uh…Shindou's twin brother. I came here to cheer him on. I…uh…don't know anything about go, so you should stop wasting your time because I can't play!" He shook off Touya's hand. "Bye!"

Akira looked at the blondes departing back in disbelief. Did Shindou seriously think he would fall for that? "Wait! I don't want to play a game. I just wanted to…talk."

Hikaru stopped in his tracks. "Really? I mean…uh," He cleared his throat again, purposefully making his voice deeper, "I'll be sure to pass that on to Hikaru. Which is most definitely not me."

"Yo, Hikaru!"

_"Shit."_ Well there went ingenious plan number one.

"I can't believe you still managed to finish before me. I was playing speed go too! Seriously." Waya's unaware voice carried through the voice as he literally dug Hikaru's grave with every word he said.

Touya simply looked on in incredulity at the scene Hikaru was making. He had known that he had come off as a little…aggressive…in their prior meetings, but he had no idea that Shindou would go to these lengths to avoid another confrontation.

"Touya-san." Waya looked between the two teenagers questioning. "What's going on?"

Hikaru barely managed to hide a wince. Waya's dislike for Akira was widely known. "Nothing. I was just leaving. Thought he looked slightly familiar, but couldn't quite place it."

"Leaving? But I thought we were going out for ramen, you know, to celebrate your advancement to first class." Waya walked closer to the two, leaning towards Hikaru when he was near enough. "That's Touya Akira, you know, the go genius?" He hissed softly.

Hikaru nodded distracted. "I got a call from my mum, said she wanted me to go home early. We'll celebrate on Saturday, okay?"

"Yeah, I guess that works. I'll see you then." Waya assented. "See you Touya-san."

"Well then, I'm just going to go." Hikaru nodded towards the elevator and started to make his exit. Only, Touya didn't seem as prone to let him go.

"Do you have a cell phone Hikaru?"

He really was going to have nightmares about Touya. "Uh, no."

"I find that surprising, how did your mother contact you then?"

Shindou turned to look at that misleading innocent façade Touya had adopted, having never hated his life more than he did at that moment.

"Well. Uh. She told me before I came to class."

"Oh." Akira had the gall to look disappointed. "I guess we'll talk some other time then. Are you going to be at the Young Lions Tournament?"

"I'm not sure yet." Seeing that Touya would no longer hinder his escape, he hastily entered the elevator. _Damn him. I was looking forward to free ramen too!_

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><p><em><em>I had this chapter done a few days ago, but then issues with my laptop sprung up. I decided to uninstall hamachi entirely so that I could use the internet without being cut off every 2 minutes. If anyone has a solution to that, please feel free to share.

As always, please read and review. I love reviews. They're my life. Please. Give me more. Really. No need to be shy.

Thank you for everyone who reviewed the last chapter and I am sorry for making you reread all seven chapters to be caught up again. I'm still in the process of re-editing. Sorry *wince* I keep a list of every person who review, favorites, or follows this story. One of these days I'll upload it on my profile. Maybe. Just know that you're all in my thoughts, and that I greatly appreciate your kind, kind gestures.

To : I update...now :D

To Irissiell: YES! You read my mind. I love you. I really had trouble figuring out how to let Hikaru play before settling on reversing both Sai's and Hikaru's roles. As for the rest... ;)

To FreezinWinter: If that didn't involve my death, I would happily agree.

To Grisia: That...is an awesome idea. Maybe I'll try it in a drabble XD

So, my lovely readers, I love you. Please review.


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